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DEVOTIONAL LIFE 





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THE TRAINING OF THE DEVO- 
TIONAL LIFE 



TRAINING COURSES FOR LEADERSHIP 



Learning and Teaching. Harold J. Sheridan and 
G. C. White. In preparation. 

The Training of the Devotional Life. Minnie E. 
Kennedy and Minna M. Meyer. 

The Program of the Christian Religion. John W. 
Shackford. 

The Organization and Administration of the Sun- 
day School. E. M. North and J. L. Cuninggim. 
In preparation. 

Recreational Leadership of Boys. Norman E. 
Richardson. In preparation. 

Life in the Making. Wade Crawford Barclay, 
Arlo A. Brown, Alma S. Sheridan, William J. 
Thompson, and Harold J. Sheridan. 



TRAINING COURSES FOR LEADERSHIP 

Edited by E. B. CHAPPELL and HENRY H. MEYER 



The Training of the 
Devotional Life 



BY 

MINNIE E. KENNEDY and MINNA M. MEYER 



Approved by the Committee on Curriculum of the General 

Sunday School Board of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 

South, and the Committee on Curriculum of the Board of 

Sunday Schools of the Methodist Episcopal Church 



SMITH & LAMAR 

NASHVILLE DALLAS RICHMOND 



THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI 






Copyright, 19i7 

BY 

SMITH & LAMAR 



APR 29 1918 
©GI.A494752 



ENRICHING RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE 

The present-day emphasis upon the subject mat- 
ter of Christian education and upon scientifically 
graded courses of study and methods of instruction 
represents a wholesome reaction against the unped- 
agogical lesson system and teaching habits of a gen- 
eration ago. In the actual use of the better tools 
for religious teaching thus afforded there is, how- 
ever, a danger that lesson materials and learning 
processes may be exalted above the spirit, that the 
framework and material may cramp the soul, and 
that study about God and truth and beauty may 
take the place of worship, humility, and growth in 
the Christian virtues. 

The complete program of Christian education will 
give large place to training the devotional life and 
to the cultivation of those fundamental elements of 
Christian experience that express personal relation- 
ships, attitudes, and aspirations of the individual. 
This training of the devotional life should begin at 
the home. Through imitation and participation in 
the religious life and worship of the family group, 
the religious nature of the child should receive its 
first strong stimulation and find its first opportuni- 
ty for self-expression. But for the achievement of 
religious maturity, imitation and participation in 
the religious exercise of the family will not suffice. 
The proper development of the devotional life re- 
quires its control and guidance in a gradually ex- 
panding religious environment. The problem in- 



INTRODUCTION 

volved, like other problems in religious education, 
has to do with aim, materials, and methods, and is of 
sufficient importance to justify separate considera- 
tion by teachers and parents desiring to become 
skilled in the fine art of religious nurture. 

Training of the devotional life seeks specifically 
to establish the conscious relationship of the indi- 
vidual child to God and to develop the attitude of 
reverence, adoration, and trust toward God and 
good will, sympathy, and service toward people. It 
seeks further to develop appreciation for moral and 
ethical ideals and stimulates aspiration to Christ- 
likeness in character and conduct. The material 
available for this training includes prayers, hymns, 
devotional and Scriptural passages, and ritual 
forms. The method of training has to do with the se- 
lection of materials adapted to the age of the child 
or group, the arrangement and direction of the pro- 
gram for the actual service of worship, together 
with the accompanying interpretation necessary in 
order to achieve the desired result in the deepening 
and enrichment of the religious experience of the 
pupil. 

These are matters to which consideration is given 
in this textbook, a unit in the second year of a three 
years' course, "Training for Leadership," and is in- 
tended both for teachers in service and for training 
classes in the Young People's Department of the 
Sunday school. It should further serve a wider cir- 
cle of readers and home students, especially among 
pastors and parents desiring help in their work of 
ministering to the devotional life of children and 
young people. The Editors. 

6 



CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

I. Need and Place for Woeshe? 9 

By Minnie E. Kennedy 

II. The Nature and Elements of Worship 16 

By Minna M. Meyer 

III. The Kinds of Prayers Men Offer 25 

By Minna M. Meyer 

IV. The Value of Prater 33 

By Minnie E. Kennedy 

V. The Devotional Use of the Bible 44 

By Minna M. Meyer 

VI. Worship through Music 56 

By Minna M. Meyer 

VII. Testimony 67 

By Minnie E. Kennedy 

VIII. Worship through Offering 75 

By Minnie E. Kennedy 

IX. Worship through Service 84 

By Minnie E. Kennedy 

X. Training in Worship in Childhood 94 

By Minna M. Meyer 
XI. Training in Worship in Later Childhood and 

Adolescence 102 

By Minna M. Meyer 

XII. The Program of Worship in the Sunday School 113 
By Minnie E. Kennedy 

(7) 



THE TKAINING OF THE DEVO 
TIONAL LIFE 



CHAPTER I 

NEED AND PLACE FOR WORSHIP 

There are a number of steel filings on a board. 
A large magnet is placed near them, and instantly 
every atom of every fragment feels the pull of the si- 
lent, insistent call and, yearning to answer, hurries 
to bring itself into vital touch with the magnet. 

The Universality of Worship 

In like fashion all peoples of all ages and lands 
have felt the silent, insistent call of God and have 
tended to make response to this call by some form 
of worship. Many of the myths and traditions that 
have come to us from the earliest times deal with 
man's conceptions of deity and with his attempts, 
more or less crude, of entering into communion with 
his deity, while records of later times show formu- 
lated systems of religion and established modes of 
worship. Hence we find that every tribe and nation 
upon earth at the present time evidences this uni- 
versal need for communicating with a superior be- 
ing and provides means or avenues through which 
this being may be approached. 

In this connection it may be noted that when the 
heathen nations worship their idols of wood and 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

stone they are obeying the same instinct which urges 
the Christian to worship the Triune God. They are 
reaching out after the true God, but because of ig- 
norance they worship false and hideous conceptions 
of him. Their devotional life expresses itself in su- 
perstitious belief in "luck" emblems, charms, fe- 
tishes, and in revolting and degrading rites, instead 
of in the pure and lofty ceremonial of true worship. 

Not only is there universal need for worship 
among all peoples, but it is evident that this social 
consciousness of need grows out of the universal 
need of the individual. This need of the individual 
for worship is evidenced in many ways. It is often 
revealed in an emergency or in a time of danger, 
when under normal conditions it does not appear. 
A person who spent many weeks in a hospital had 
occasion to note this. It mattered not whether a pa- 
tient were American or foreign, white or colored, 
man or woman, saint or sinner, when in extremity of 
pain or grief he called upon the name of the Lord. 
It may, perhaps, be safely stated that the person who 
does not turn to God in emergencies and who in- 
stead assumes the demeanor of a stoic has at some 
previous time deliberately inhibited the Godward 
impulse. 

That a consciousness of God is racial and there- 
fore instinctive in the individual may be illustrated 
by the experience of Helen Keller. When she was 
told of God and of his love and power, she said : "I 
have always known him, but I did not know his 
name." Without sight, hearing, and speech, yet she 
had within her capacity for true worship. 

However imperfect its expression, however much 
10 



NEED AND PLACE FOR WORSHIP 

in need of guidance and instruction, the human 
heart instinctively joins in the cry of the Psalmist: 
"O come, let us worship and bow down ; let us kneel 
before Jehovah our maker." "O worship Jehovah in 
the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the 
earth." 

If it be admitted that the need for worship is uni- 
versal, we may now consider the place that it may 
hold in the life of a nation, of an individual, and in 
religious education. 

Place of Worship in the Life of a Nation 

No one can doubt that religion expressed through 
worship forms an important part of tribal or na- 
tional life. When a people accepts the same God 
and has similar forms of worship, a unity of spirit 
results which can be secured in no other way. 
Among the American Indians the tribe centered in 
large measure around the medicine man and his 
crude but stately religious ceremonies, while African 
tribes in similar fashion center around the witch 
doctor, with his fetishes and incantations. The uni- 
fying effect of a common worship upon a nation was 
recognized by Jeroboam, king of Israel. After the 
formation of the northern kingdom he realized that 
if the people continued to go to Jerusalem to offer 
sacrifice, an independent national spirit would not 
be easily developed. So he established religious cen- 
ters within the territory of Israel and persuaded the 
people to assemble there for worship. A strong fac- 
tor of national unity in Mohammedan lands is the 
daily prayer of the faithful with their faces toward 
Mecca. In our own land national life is unified by 

11 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

that faith in God which expresses itself in social 
worship in the home and the church. The general 
observance of Thanksgiving Day and the response 
to the call for the people to observe special hours of 
prayer are striking instances of national unity se- 
cured through worship. 

In the next place, the modes of worship approved 
by a people serve as an index to its ideals and stand- 
ards and in turn tend to perpetuate these ideals. 
When the Hebrew nation entered heartily and sin- 
cerely into the service of worship prescribed by the 
law of Moses, the ideals and standards of its na- 
tional life were pure and lofty. When this service 
was corrupted and the priests offered "polluted 
bread" with the "blind, the lame, and the sick" upon 
the altar of Jehovah, the corrupted ideals of the 
nation were made more permanent by being thus 
expressed in its worship. W T hile the vicious and 
degrading rites of Baal worship reflected the low- 
ered ideals of the chosen people, these rites also con- 
tinually tended to keep their ideals permanently 
lowered. When a good king arose and the groves 
and altars of Baal were destroyed and the worship 
of Jehovah was reestablished, the nation's ideals be- 
came loftier and finer. Thus we may conclude that 
no nation can preserve right standards and attain 
to its highest development unless true worship has 
large place in its life. 

The Place of Worship in the Life of the Individual 

We shall now consider briefly the place filled by 
worship in the personal life. The intellect of every 
individual is capable of a cold, dispassionate belief 

12 



NEED AND PLACE FOK WORSHIP 

in God. Worship is the process by means of which 
this intellectual belief is transmuted into a vital re- 
ligious principle and acquires the added elements of 
love and trust. A conception of God which holds 
him as remote and untouched by human need as the 
law of gravitation is thus changed by communion 
with him into that which recognizes him as the 
Heavenly Father who loves and cares for his child. 

Again, it is through worship that the individual 
keeps God in his thought. Without constant com- 
munion with the Father the "care of the world and 
the deceitfulness of riches," with the manifold in- 
terests and pleasures that life brings, will inevitably 
crowd out the consciousness of God and of his pres- 
ence. 

Lastly, it is by means of association or compan- 
ionship with God through worship that the Chris- 
tian grows by degrees into his likeness. Just as a 
loving child through his companionship with a wise 
and tender parent will absorb the ideals of that par- 
ent and make them his own, so the Christian through 
worship will come into vital touch with the person- 
ality of the Father and will reflect in his own life 
those ideals which found expression in Jesus Christ. 

The Place of Worship in Religious Education 

Since worship has an important place in national 
and individual life, it is evident that its value will 
be fully recognized by every adequate system of reli 
gious education. Any consideration of the whole 
matter of religious education will show that the 
Church has not fully apprehended the modern con- 
ception of its province and objectives. This lack of 

13 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

understanding is much in evidence among Sunday 
school workers. Let us, then, outline briefly the aims 
to be reached by religious education through the Sun- 
day school. It will then be possible to determine 
the place which may be assigned to worship among 
the agencies which promote the accomplishment of 
these aims. 

There was a time when the chief function of edu- 
cation in the Sunday school was presumed to be the 
promotion of Bible study. If the child were taught 
the facts of the Bible and some catechetical state- 
ment of doctrine or Bible truths, the task undertak- 
en by the Church was considered well done. The 
modern conception of the matter is that the child 
through the processes of religious education is to be 
brought into consciousness of his relation with the 
Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ and led to ex- 
press his religious life through service. The cultural 
means to this end may be considered in two groups. 
One group consists of those things which are used 
primarily to impress the child's thought and feeling ; 
the other consists of various modes by which impres- 
sions may be expressed. In the first group may be 
included courses of Bible and correlated lessons; 
and in the second prayer, praise, giving, and service, 
with other means of securing expression. It is to be 
noted that these groups inevitably blend into each 
other. When a child has had a desire to worship 
awakened in him and expresses this impulse in 
prayer or praise, that act of expression deepens the 
impression already made. No one can deny that the 
part of the educational process which deals with ex- 
pression is as important as that which deals primari- 

14 



NEED AND PLACE FOR WORSHIP 

ly with impression. In other words, leading the 
child to know the Father, training him in worship, 
is equal in importance to the teaching of the Word. 
It will thus be noted that worship naturally holds 
large place in the processes of religious education 
and challenges the earnest attention of the thought- 
ful educator and of the Church. 

In succeeding chapters will be considered in de- 
tail the various aids to the devotional life and the 
ways through which this life expresses itself in wor- 
ship, the highest exercise of which the human spirit 
is capable. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Give an original illustration of the fact that the 
need for worship is universal. 

2. What is proved by this universal need for worship? 

3. How does neglect of worship by an individual affect 
his religious development? 

4. Why are many Churches not providing proper train- 
ing in worship for their children and young people? 

5. Classify the reasons just given. 

6. Which are causal, and which are merely effects? 

7. How may these difficulties be overcome? 

15 



CHAPTER II 

THE MATURE AND ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP 

What Is Worship? 

It is defined as the act of paying divine honors to 
a deity believed to be supreme. It is, therefore, not 
peculiar to Christians. In all lands, from the time 
of primitive peoples down to the present, we find 
traces of men's efforts to express their religious feel- 
ings. Nor have these untutored peoples been lax in 
their religious observances. In fact, it is their re- 
ligious Ibeliefs which have really governed their whole 
lives. Even to-day the ceremonial laws which have 
to do with eating and drinking and with all social 
relations are observed so strictly that these peoples 
are virtually slaves to their religion. 

Differences between Pagan and Christian Worship 

It is in the attitude toward worship that we find 
one of the chief differences between primitive reli- 
gions and the Christian religion. St. Paul may have 
had in mind the burden placed upon the man who 
was obliged to observe the minutest details of the 
many ceremonial laws when he wrote: "Christ re- 
deemed us from the curse of the law." 

Another difference between primitive religions and 
the Christian religion lies in the method of commu- 
nication with the deity or deities worshiped. Sav- 
age peoples have not learned, as have we, to know 
the character of God — that he is unchangeable, that 
he can do no wrong, and that he loves truth and jus- 

16 



THE NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP 

tice. We know that certain actions, because of their 
very nature, are in harmony with his will, while 
others are not. But the untutored man has no writ- 
ten record of revelation, knows little of the laws of 
nature, and must, therefore, inquire in each particu- 
lar instance what is the will of the gods. The rou- 
tine work of daily life cannot be undertaken with- 
out consulting them or sacrificing to them. It is 
said that the Pueblo Indians were much surprised 
to see the white settlers plant corn without any reli- 
gious ceremony, and their surprise was even greater 
when they saw that good crops were produced. 

Some peoples have erected statues of enormous 
size to express their ideas of the greatness of their 
gods. Other statues show an effort to express power 
and still others serenity, a spirit undisturbed by the 
changes of the external world. But, no matter how 
imperfectly it has been expressed, it is the thought 
of the divine, the idea of God in the soul, that has 
inspired progress by means of ideals toward which 
men strive and will ever continue to strive with con- 
stantly increasing reward. 

Thus Christ did not come to make men more reli- 
gious, but to give them the highest form of religion. 
And the Christian missionary to-day who goes to the 
non-Christian peoples of the earth does not go with 
a spirit of intolerance, but rather with sympathy for 
those for whom he labors, recognizing the sincerity 
of their searchings after the Infinite, endeavoring to 
build upon the knowledge of God which they already 
possess and giving them a purer and more spiritual 
form of religion. 

2 17 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

What Is Christian Worship? 

In the sense in which we as Christians know it, 
worship consists of more than specific acts; it is 
rather an attitude, an emotion which pervades the 
whole self. And specific acts of worship are but a 
form of expression of the desires and aspirations 
which are constant in the heart. Expression is, how- 
ever, necessary to the strengthening of these emo- 
tions. We have seen that the desire to communicate 
with the Divine Spirit and to honor him is common 
to men ; but, in order that they may receive the great- 
est benefit from worship, the native impulse must be 
intelligently directed and encouraged. 

Essential Elements of Christian Worship 

Perhaps the first essential to worship is a realiza- 
tion of the nearness of God; and Christian worship 
differs from that of other religions in that we are 
taught that God is always with us, that the divine 
Power whom we approach is always accessible, that 
he does not have to be propitiated by offerings nor 
urged to be gracious, but that he is ever ready to hear 
our prayer. And, more than this, he even offers him- 
self. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock : if any 
man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in 
to him." (Rev. iii. 20.) This characteristic is pe- 
culiar to the Christian religion. In no other are 
men taught that God seeks them because of his love 
for them and his desire to have them live righteous 
and holy lives. We have in the traditional language 
of worship many expressions of beseeching and en- 
treaty, as if man desired good things more than 

18 



THE NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP 

God desired theru for him; but these expressions do 
not really belong to Christian worship. 

Another essential element of Christian worship is 
a realization of the character and attributes of God 
— his holiness, his goodness, his justice, and his lov- 
ing-kindness. St. Francis of Assisi spoke of his di- 
vine bounty whereby the rain falls on the just and 
on the unjust, and the sun shines on the evil and on 
the good, as "the great courtesy of God." If these 
thoughts of God fill the mind, worship will be rever- 
ent. A sense of awe, wonder, adoration, and thanks- 
giving will fill the heart, and it will echo the words 
of the Psalmist : "What shall I render unto Jehovah 
for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup 
of salvation, and call upon the name of Jehovah." 
"O that men would praise Jehovah for his goodness, 
and for his wonderful works to the children of 
men !" 

In the presence of God, man will also feel a sense 
of humility. He will be made conscious of his needs 
and will desire to ask God for help and strength. 
Or it may be that there will be revealed to him a 
sense of guilt for some sin committed, and, grieved 
and ashamed, he will wish to ask forgiveness.; for 
true worship must always be sincere and whole- 
hearted. The Psalmist recognized this when he said : 
"If I regard [harbor] iniquity in my heart, Je- 
hovah will not hear me." Prayers for forgiveness 
are sometimes offered by those who harbor an unfor- 
giving spirit. If, however, a man really feels the 
weight of his own sin and earnestly desires to be for- 
given, it will be impossible to be unforgiving toward 
others. 

19 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

The Social Aspect of Worship 
Worship has a social as well as an individual as- 
pect. We know that the ear of God is open to the 
cry of the individual, that neither the force nor the 
influence of numbers is needed to bring pressure to 
bear upon him ; but we know also that certain condi- 
tions, both within ourselves and in our environment, 
assist or hinder, as the case may be, our commun- 
ion with God. In seeking God's gifts, his favor, his 
spirit, we desire them not for ourselves alone, but 
also for our friends, our community, and for all peo- 
ple. The highest religious values and greatest bless- 
ings cannot be realized by the individual alone. They 
must be realized by a group seeking together and 
working toward the same ends. A sense of fellow- 
ship is, therefore, the greatest of all aids to worship. 
A conscious harmony prevailing among a group of 
worshipers produces a feeling of kinship and com- 
radeship. It not only greatly enhances the sense of 
rest and elevation which accompanies worship, but 
gives a desire to promote the welfare of the group, 
to assist any who may be weak or in trouble, and to 
share the joy of those who rejoice. In fact, worship 
may be regarded as the highest social fellowship and 
its chief purpose the cultivation of Christian atti- 
tudes of mind and heart toward God the Father and 
toward all his creatures. 

Worship together in a united family group or in 
the services of the Church or Sunday school gives an 
inspiration for practical effort that does not come in 
the same measure from worship alone. It also serves 
to strengthen our purposes, just as the courage of a 
company of soldiers acting in concert becomes many 

20 



THE NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP 

times as great as the sum total of the courage of 
each individual soldier. Jesus said : "If two of you 
shall agree on earth as touching anything that they 
shall ask, it shall be done" — not because of greater 
willingness on the part of the Father, but because 
those who are "agreed" will work with redoubled en- 
ergy to create conditions which will make possible 
the answer to their prayer. 

The Right Atmosphere for Worship 
Wherever a service of worship is held, it is, of 
course, of the utmost importance that the leader or 
those in charge should see that conditions are such 
that the worshipers will be free from disturbance. If 
the majority of a group is restless and inattentive, it 
is difficult for the minority to derive much benefit 
from the service. Especially is this true in the Sun- 
day school, where the worshiping group is composed 
of children not yet able to exercise much voluntary 
control over their thoughts. They cannot give at- 
tention to the leader simply because they are asked 
to do so or have been taught that they should. All 
the influences of the school should unite to assist the 
worshiper — the music, the decorations of the room, 
and the behavior of older members. Above all, there 
should be a recognition of the presence of God and 
of the purpose for which the school has assembled — 
namely, to learn about God, to speak with him as a 
company of his children, and to listen to his voice as 
he speaks through music, the words of Scripture, 
and the beautiful thoughts and emotions that fill 
mind and heart. 

It is not always easy to take one's thoughts from 
21 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

the paths they have been following and enter heartily 
into a service of worship. The leader should recog- 
nize this and should carefully plan to lead the group 
into a frame of mind that will enable them to appre- 
ciate and receive help from such a service. In one 
Sunday school this frame of mind is secured through 
the processional by which the children enter the 
main auditorium for their service of worship to the 
deep-toned but inspiring music of the church organ. 
In one home the family worship is a source of in- 
spiration and real joy to the members of the family 
and to the friends who occasionally share this serv- 
ice with them. At the close of the evening meal one 
of the daughters goes immediately to the piano and, 
while the other members of the family are assem- 
bling in the living room, plays one or two devotional 
hymns. Then a hymn is sung, and when at its close 
the family kneel together for the prayer the minds 
of all have been attuned to worship. 

Neglect of Training in Worship 

In closing this chapter we cannot omit an expres- 
sion of regret that, great as is the recognized value 
of worship, there is now no other part of the program 
of the Sunday school which is so much neglected as 
is the service of worship. In fact, in a very large 
number of schools — perhaps in a majority of them — 
there is no spirit of worship and no attempt to give 
instruction or training in worship. The first half 
hour after the school assembles is given to "opening 
exercises," in which hymns selected at random are 
sung, Scripture passages from a lesson leaf or hymn 
book are read responsively by the leader and the few 

22 



THE NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP 

pupils who are sufficiently interested to find the 
page, a prayer is offered in words which the children 
are unable to comprehend, announcements are made, 
and the groups of children separate noisily to go to 
their various classes. There is disorder and confu- 
sion such as would be tolerated in none but a Sun- 
day school. At Christmas time Christ's birthday is 
celebrated by having as the chief attraction a "San- 
ta Claus" who behaves like a clown. 

Lack of Reverence among Young People 

Those to whom local Churches look for leadership 
have become careless or have themselves lacked train- 
ing; and children are seldom taught the sacredness 
of the Church, the Bible, the Lord's day, or the sa- 
credness of the body and the duty of keeping it clean 
and pure, and of life itself as a gift of God for the 
use of which we are accountable to him. Such teach- 
ing as we urge does not mean slavish adherence to 
the letter of the law, but a just appreciation of and 
regard for the things that have proved to be of abid- 
ing value. In one of our most progressive States a 
minister who has the oversight of rural Churches 
testifies that the lack of reverence among children 
and young people in the communities he visits is ap- 
palling. In failing to give the young people this ele- 
ment, which is a vital part of education and one of 
the things which makes life noble and great, the par- 
ents, teachers, and leaders whom they have trusted 
as guides are guilty of denying them a most impor- 
tant part of their heritage. 

23 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

What May Be Accomplished 

It shall be our purpose in the chapters which fol- 
low to show what has been accomplished by the few 
schools that have regarded seriously the importance 
of training in worship and by those who have realized 
the great opportunity afforded by the Sunday school. 
It is possible to make this period in the Sunday 
school service the one most enjoyed and appreciated 
by the children. It is possible, with the aid of a 
helpful environment, wise and sympathetic leader- 
ship, and the use of appropriate hymns, psalms, and 
prayers, to lead the little child to the Father and to 
observe the gradual unfolding of the religious life, 
the impulses toward which are inherited, but need to 
be directed, strengthened, and given opportunity for 
expression. It is possible to note in these children 
the transformation of thoughts and ideas into ideals 
toward which they strive and to see young people 
become more and more responsive to those things 
which the human race has found to be of greatest 
worth. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. In what respects does Christian worship differ from 
pagan worship? 

2. May there be a difference between a religious man and 
a Christian man? 

3. If so, which is the better man? 

4. What does the word "Christian" mean? 

5. Is there a lack of reverence in your Church? 

6. If so, what is the cause? 

7. What can you do to improve conditions? 

8. What differences will a generation trained to appre- 
ciate and to participate in a service of worship make in 
your Church? 

24 



CHAPTER III 

THE KINDS OF PRAYERS MEN OFFER 

Why Do Men Pray? 

"We hear in these days of scientific enlightenment 
a great deal of discussion about the efficacy of 
prayer; and many reasons are given us why we 
should not pray, whilst others are given us why we 
should. But in all this very little is said of the rea- 
son why we do pray. . . . The reason why we do 
pray is simply that we cannot help praying," wrote 
Prof. William James. In the preceding chapter we 
have discussed the universality of religion. We have 
seen that all men, even the tribes farthest removed 
from civilization, have some form of worship; and 
those who have studied carefully the nature and the 
laws of the human mind tell us that the wellsprings 
of religion are an integral part of human sympathies 
and emotions. Paul, preaching to the men of Ath- 
ens, whom he called "very religious," told them that 
God had made men that they should seek after him, 
"if haply they might feel after him and find him." 
Jesus, quoting from the Psalmist, said, "My house 
shall be called a house of prayer for all nations" ; 
and in the erection of the Hebrew temple there was 
"the Court of the Gentiles," providing a place of 
worship for any stranger who might come to Jerusa- 
lem, it being taken for granted that he would wish 
to worship. 

Involuntary Prayers 

The prayers that are involuntarily offered be- 
cause "we cannot help praying" are usually prayers 

25 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

for individual aid or protection. They are called 
forth, by some strong emotion, often that of fear. 
A recent photograph reproduced by some of the 
newspapers shows a group of African men, some 
with their faces bowed to the earth, others with 
hands raised toward heaven, the position of each in- 
dicating most intense earnestness in prayer. Above 
their heads can be seen an airplane, the first they 
have ever seen. An old sailor, whose life harmonized 
in but few respects with the teachings of Christ, used 
to tell to any who would listen a story of a time 
when the ship on which he sailed was wrecked, and 
himself and a few companions found themselves in a 
small boat in mid-ocean. Days and nights passed, 
and no ship appeared. Finally one of the number 
suggested that they all pray, and pray with all their 
might. The speaker led them, and they cried aloud 
to God. Before nightfall the captain of a passing 
ship discovered them and took them aboard. The 
old sailor always ended his story by saying: "Now, 
you may think what you like about prayer, but since 
then I've always believed there was something in it." 

Selfish Prayers 

Not unlike the prayers offered under stress or in 
time of peril are the prayers of children who ask and 
sometimes tease for material things they very much 
desire. One little girl was overheard to pray: 
"Please, please, please let me have this, and I won't 
ask you for anything more for a long time." Al- 
though couched in different language, the spirit of 
many prayers offered by adults is not different. 
They are largely petitions for gifts or favors and are 

26 



THE KINDS OF PRAYERS MEN OFFER 

often extremely selfish. We would not wholly con- 
demn selfish prayers. We have all offered them and 
sometimes do still; and our Father, who "knoweth 
our frame," is patient with our childishness and of- 
ten grants our desires, but later we are apt to feel a 
sense of shame for having prayed for trivial things 
when we might have asked for some great, some per- 
manent good. 

A higher plane is reached when we habitually 
think of the welfare and happiness of others as well 
as of ourselves and our petitions are for friends, for 
the Church, for those in need, and for all mankind. 

Two General Types of Prayers 

In our study it may aid us if we endeavor to dis- 
tinguish two general types of prayers. In "The Psy- 
chology of Prayer" Miss Strong has given to these 
types the names "practical" and "sesthetic." Ex- 
pressed in simpler terms, the first means going to 
the Father to ask for something, and the latter go- 
ing simply to have a talk. One type does not, of 
course, exclude the other, but in the main the prac- 
tical type includes those petitions which have to do 
with action. They are requests for something to be 
done. To this class belong those prayers offered un- 
der stress of emotion or because of some great need. 
It includes also prayers for strength for daily tasks 
or for bearing special responsibilities and prayers 
for courage and wisdom. Such prayers consist usu- 
ally of definite requests for specific things for one's 
self or for another. If intelligently offered, they pre- 
suppose a willingness on the part of those who offer 

27 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

them to be used as God's instruments in helping to 
confer the requested favor. 

Prayer a Struggle 

In the lives of many men who accomplish great 
things for the kingdom of God prayers for courage 
and for guidance often represent a struggle. It is 
not always easy for prayers to determine which of 
two or more alternatives they should choose. Some- 
times the choice which they believe right involves 
hardships for those whom they love. Sometimes the 
question concerns itself with which of two ways 
would lead to the desired goal. In the early days 
of the prohibition movement, when it had the sup- 
port of but few prominent men, a young Christian 
lawyer was elected to the legislature of his State. 
During his first term he was asked to introduce a 
bill providing for State-wide prohibition. He con- 
sented, but when his purpose became known he was 
warned by the liquor men that if he did so they 
would see to it that with the end of his term his po- 
litical career should also be brought to an end. He 
had worked hard for his education. His family had 
deprived themselves of real necessities in order to fit 
him for his work. He believed that as a Christian 
statesman he could serve God and the cause of right- 
eousness. The new movement had not yet sufficient 
strength to give any hope for the passage of the bill, 
but it seemed right that this initial step should be 
taken. Final success could not come until some one 
was willing to sacrifice a career for the sake of bring- 
ing the question before the people of the State, and 
this man's prayers were a field on which a mighty 

28 



THE KINDS OF PRAYERS MEN OFFER 

battle was fought. Luther passed through many 
such struggles, as did also John Knox, "Chinese" 
Gordon, and many others whose names are recorded 
in the history of the progress of the kingdom of God. 
Indeed, Professor Fosdick says : "No man's life can 
altogether lack that struggle if he is to achieve de- 
pendable integrity that cannot be bought or scared." 

Prayer as Communion 

The other type of prayer is the one naturally used 
when one is weary with the struggle and desires 
peace, rest, and renewal. In its extreme form it 
passes over into mysticism, but with most practical 
Christians it is largely meditation. Instead of be- 
ing used as a means of aiding to bring about some 
action, it is rather for the establishment of a rela- 
tion. We may feel that we are alone and seek com- 
panionship; our efforts have failed, and we desire 
comfort and sympathy ; we have been weak or sinful 
in thought or act and wish to confess and to ask 
pardon; or we are discouraged and would forget, 
would lose ourselves, as is expressed in a prayer of 
James Martineau: "Look upon our contrition, and 
lift up our weakness, and let the dayspring yet arise 
within our hearts, and bring us healing, strength, 
and joy." 

Prayers such as the one quoted do not come with- 
in the range of the experience of children, but they 
may become a source of much comfort to young peo- 
ple in the adolescent period who so often have diffi- 
culty in interpreting new emotions and in adjusting 
themselves to new duties and enlarged responsibili- 
ties. At intervals during these years they are apt to 

29 



THE TKAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

become discontented with themselves or their com- 
panions and with the limitations of their environ- 
ment. The longing to be out in the world and doing 
things is likely to be followed by a sense of depres- 
sion, a feeling of inability to do anything worth 
while. A boy of fourteen was chosen on his high- 
school baseball team. As he was the youngest mem- 
ber of his class, the choice was a surprise to him, 
and he returned home greatly elated. For several 
days he talked of almost nothing else ; then sudden- 
ly, before he had had a chance to test his ability to 
fill his place on the team, his elation gave way to de- 
pression. He complained to his mother that he nev- 
er had been able to play a really good game, and per- 
haps some one else should have been chosen, etc. 
During these years girls especially are apt to feel 
that nobody understands them and that their prob- 
lems are different from the problems of other people. 
With these young people teachers should emphasize 
the nearness of God, the companionship of Jesus, 
who was "in all points tempted like as we are," and 
the value of self-surrender in prayer to the enfold- 
ing love of the Father. 

Prayers of Adoration 

The "aesthetic" type also includes prayers of ado- 
ration. This element, so often omitted in our 
prayers, seemed to Jesus of so much importance that 
he placed it first in the prayer he taught his disci- 
ples. Prayers of adoration remind us of the charac- 
ter of God. They impress us with his majesty and 
call forth the emotions of awe and reverence. They 
serve to lift us above the life of daily routine into a 



THE KINDS OF PRAYERS MEN OFFER 

realm of beauty and wonder, as does, for example, a 
prayer of the communion service: "Therefore with 
angels and archangels, and with all the company of 
heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name." 

The Real Meaning of Prayer 

This chapter, devoted to the analysis of prayer or 
to a study of the kinds of prayers that are offered 
to God, should help us to see first that those men 
who have been most blessed, whose lives have been 
most enriched, are those who have learned to come 
to God in the midst of all their happiness, their dis- 
appointments, and their problems, and have sought 
his companionship and counsel as a son seeks the 
companionship and counsel of a sympathetic father 
in whose wisdom and ability he has the greatest con- 
fidence. 

Secondly, the relationship to the Father is not 
that of an only child, but of one of a family whose 
needs differ in some respects, but in which each mem- 
ber has a share in the Father's love and an equal 
right to his gifts. One would not, therefore, desire 
the things which would impoverish other members 
of the family, but rather those which would benefit 
all; and if one asked for a special favor, it would 
be prompted by the wish to use it for the good of all. 
Therefore when we offer our petitions to God we 
should consider whether it is best that we have the 
things we desire ; we should seek to know God's will ; 
we should listen as well as speak. He bids us ask, 
but also he bids us hear; and perhaps the most help- 
ful part of a prayer is that in which we keep silent 
and try to think our problems through with God, re- 

31 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

membering that we do not pray to make God willing 
to give, but to make ourselves fit to receive. Dr. 
Jowett says : "Prayer is the clearing of the blocked 
roads which are crowded with all sorts of worldly 
hindrances." Older children and young people can 
be taught this true meaning of prayer; and when it 
has once been grasped the value of prayer for their 
lives will be enhanced a thousandfold. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. What kinds of prayers can you mention? 

2. What do children usually ask for when they pray? 
People of mature years? 

3. What prayers give us the most permanent good? 

4. Should any one type be used exclusively? 

5. What can we learn from the prayers of Jesus? 

6. When is prayer a struggle? 

7. In what way does prayer enrich one's life? 

32 



CHAPTER IV 

THE VALUE OF PRAYER 

A child's definition of prayer is, "Talking to God." 
Simple as is this statement, yet it is comprehensive 
and satisfying. Other definitions include the follow- 
ing: "The soul's sincere desire, uttered or unex- 
pressed;" "An act of supplication addressed to Dei- 
ty;" "The Christian's vital breath." In the heaven- 
ly vision described by John mention is made of in- 
cense, "which is the prayers of saints." 

Value of Prayer 

From the analysis of prayer given in the previous 
chapter it appears that prayer is an essential ele- 
ment in worship and also the medium through which 
we receive blessings for ourselves and for others. In 
consequence it is evident that the person who leads 
a genuine prayer life has continually a conscious- 
ness of God's presence and power and is in a posi- 
tion to receive the good gifts which the Heavenly 
Father wishes to bestow. Conversely, it is evident 
that the prayerless life is cut off from communica- 
tion with God in all that the term implies of barren- 
ness and lack of guidance. 

Subjective Value 

In considering the value of prayer, then, it may 
be noted that prayer has a reflex, or subjective, val- 
ue. In other words, the act of praying has a strong 
and direct result in the life of the person who prays. 
3 33 



THE TRAIXIXG OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

He is put "in tune with the infinite" and thus is pre- 
pared to receive a message or a spiritual gift from 
the Father. There are some who hold that this re- 
flex result is the only value prayer possesses ; that to 
bring the person praying into the right attitude of 
mind and heart is its only province. If this view be 
accepted, then inevitably prayers of petition will 
cease. No one will persist in asking things of God 
who believes that only a reflex result can be secured 
and that his petition has no effect whatever upon 
God's action in the matter. 

Objective Value 

The Scripture is filled with texts which convey the 
thought of gifts being bestowed in response to a re- 
quest for them. "Ask, and it shall be given unto 
you," "The supplication of a righteous man availeth 
much," and the definite petitions of the Lord's 
Prayer may be cited as instances. So may the words 
of Jesus : "If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children, how much more shall 
your Father which is in heaven give good things to 
them that ask him?" The fact that God has prom- 
ised to "give gifts unto men" when the requests are 
properly made and are according to his will implies 
that these gifts may be withheld if all the condi- 
tions of acceptable prayer are not met. 

It is not enough that the inner attitude of a peti- 
tioner be correct. He may desire the gift with all 
the power of his mind and soul, and yet it may be 
forever withheld. God's knowledge and wisdom, as 
well as his power and love, must be taken into ac- 
count also. If this be admitted, then it is evident 

34 



THE VALUE OF PRAYER 

that prayer is not only subjective, enriching the spir- 
it of the person that prays, but has objective value 
also. That it is an active factor in bringing to pass 
the establishment of God's kingdom, no thoughtful 
person who truly prays will deny. 

Value of Prayers of Adoration 

The value of prayers of adoration or of commun- 
ion is largely subjective. When the Psalmist cried, 
"O Jehovah our Lord, how excellent is thy name in 
all the earth!" his whole nature responded to the 
thought of the goodness and greatness of God. When 
he said, "I love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. Jeho- 
vah is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer," 
his love for the God that gave strength and protec- 
tion became strong and more satisfying. As he 
voiced his thirst after righteousness in the words, 
"O God, thou art my God, earnestly will I seek thee. 
My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for 
thee," the high aspirations of his soul after holiness 
were given definiteness and were made more perma- 
nent. These experiences of the Psalmist are typical 
of similar benefits that come to the Christian as he 
realizes anew the greatness and holiness of God and 
expresses his realization in prayers of adoration. 

Value of Prayers of Petition 

All types of prayers of petition have value both 
subjectively and objectively. They prepare the mind 
and heart of the individual, so that he is fitted to 
receive the thing for which he petitions and to co- 
operate in the accomplishment of the task about 
which he is concerned. Such prayers also lay hold 

35 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

of the power and greatness of God. It is said of 
Loyola that when he wanted anything accomplished 
he prayed as if God would have to do it all and then 
went out and worked as if the whole responsibility 
lay on Loyola. He felt a definite need of God's help 
and was assured that he would receive it. He also 
realized that he must help to answer his own prayers. 
We find here illustrated both phases of a true prayer 
of petition. 

Conditions Affect Prayer Value 
One thing should be observed. The value of any- 
thing is always modified by accompanying condi- 
tions. A diamond in the rough is valuable, but this 
value is only potential. The stone must be cut and 
polished, and appropriate setting must be devised, 
before its true worth can be realized. So it is with 
prayer. We infer from the consideration of prayer 
values given above that if its true value is to be real- 
ized, certain conditions must be observed. 

Reverent Atmosphere 
The atmosphere in which prayer is made should 
be that of reverence. Too often it happens that when 
a child kneels down to pray at night the hum of con- 
versation and the laughter around him continue. In 
a primary or beginners' department it has repeatedly 
happened that while the children are at prayer the 
secretary, with a loud clinking sound, counts the 
money. Sometimes visitors or even teachers move 
about the room or talk with each other. Under such 
conditions prayer can have but little value. In fact, 
it would be better not to attempt to pray at all un- 
til quietness and reverence can be secured. In gen- 

36 



THE VALUE OF PRAYER 

eral Sunday school sessions and at public worship 
too often the reverent atmosphere is destroyed by the 
idle chatter which precedes the prayer and some- 
times continues through it. That the reverent at- 
mosphere which is so important to prayer is pro- 
duced by conditions and not inculcated by precept 
should always be kept in mind. 

The writer went repeatedly to St. Peter's, in Rome. 
She went with a group of tourists ; she went with a 
friend ; she went alone. The visits were made at dif- 
ferent hours of the day — in the morning, in the early 
and late afternoon. Nevertheless, she was never 
able to feel any spirit of reverence or worship. 
Analysis of conditions gave the real reason for this 
failure. The whole interior was draped in tawdry 
hangings in preparation for the Pentecostal feast, 
and parties of tourists, with guidebooks in hand, 
were clattering here and there, asking questions and 
discussing various points of interest. The atmos- 
phere was at fault. 

Later a visit was paid to the cathedral at Milan. 
When the heavy curtains that hang in the door arch- 
es fell behind the visitor, the impression received 
was that of simplicity and harmony. Everywhere 
there curved the wonderful Gothic arches which sym- 
bolize hands folded in prayer. There was a spirit of 
order and quietness. Through a wide stained-glass 
window a great shaft of golden sunlight fell through 
the shadows and bathed as it passed a figure of the 
crucified Christ. It is safe to say that every one 
within those cathedral walls felt deep in his spirit 
the call to prayer. The atmosphere had secured rev- 
erence. 

37 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

True Spirit of Prayer 

In order that prayer may be of real value, there 
must be in the heart of the worshiper the true spirit 
of prayer. Just what this spirit is may be illustrat- 
ed. A half-witted boy was seen to go apart and to 
kneel down. A person standing near heard him say- 
ing softly the letters of the alphabet, "A B C," to the 
end. When questioned, he answered: "I wanted to 
talk to God, but I did not know the words. So I 
told God the letters, and he will make the words." 
This boy had the true spirit of prayer. Two little 
children were in turn taught to kneel and thank 
God in their own words for the good things he had 
given them. One night the baby brother of two and 
a half years said : "I want to talk to God." When 
he knelt beside his little bed, before a word could be 
spoken, he bowed his curly head and said : "Sank 
you, God." That was all, and it was enough. He 
had the true spirit of prayer, a genuine outgoing of 
his heart toward the Father. 

A little child of two and a half, who is accustomed 
to repeat after father or mother very simple words 
of prayer about the things in which she is personally 
interested, often adds spontaneous petitions of her 
own. For instance, she had seen a parade which in- 
cluded marching soldiers, and her interest was great- 
ly stirred. She saw one of the young soldiers struck 
by an automobile and was delighted when it was dis- 
covered that he was unhurt. That night, as she fol- 
lowed the words of prayer suggested by her father, 
"Please take care of the soldiers," she added with 
earnestness : "Thank you for not letting the little sol- 

38 



THE VALUE OF PRAYER 

dier get hurt." That child was truly praying, was 
expressing the real desires of her heart. 

Intelligence in Prayer 

To have value in life, prayer must be intelligent. 
This is especially true in prayers of petition. In or- 
der that it may be so, it must take conditions into 
thoughtful account before the petition is made. Very 
frequently petition is nothing more than a blind in- 
stinctive reaching out after help from some dimly 
comprehended source. Even Christians often pray 
in this fashion. A young woman was spending the 
night with a friend. About midnight the fire alarm 
was sounded. The blaze seemed in the direction of 
her home. As she hurried down the street she found 
herself praying most earnestly and insistently that 
it would not be her house! Note the lack of intelli- 
gence in the prayer. The house was already burn- 
ing. That point was already settled. When she be- 
came conscious of the absurdity of her request, she 
changed her prayer, asking that if it were her home, 
and her loved ones were not safe, they might be pro- 
tected. 

It often happens that the Christian is confronted 
with the necessity of planning a course of action or 
of making some important decision. A thoughtful 
consideration of the matter would show that the 
time for prayer, for asking God's guidance, is at the 
very beginning, in order that the judgment and the 
desires of the heart may be directed toward such 
conclusions as will be in harmony with God's will 
and plans. Instead many times prayer is made at 
the end of the process, merely as a form to ask God 

39 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

to bless the finished plans which did not take him 
into account in the making. Such prayer cannot be 
termed intelligent. 

Limitations Taken into Account 

Intelligent prayer takes into account the limita- 
tions of prayer. Faith has many times suffered 
shipwreck at this point. A child had received the 
impression that God will surely give anything that 
is asked in faith. Once her heart was set upon go- 
ing to a picnic. When the day came, rain was fall- 
ing in torrents. She spent the morning alternating 
between her room, where she prayed God to stop the 
rain, regardless of the suffering crops, and the front 
porch to see if the rain had stopped. Not long after 
that came the time in her life when prayer lost its 
power and seemed a broken reed, for the sweep of 
the pendulum from a blind faith is to doubt and un- 
belief. A certain man was prominent in Church and 
community. His only son was at the point of death. 
He agonized in prayer for the boy's life, depending 
absolutely on the statement, "And all things what- 
soever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall re- 
ceive," without taking into account "If we ask any- 
thing according to his will, he heareth us." The son 
died. The father said: "There is no God. Prayer 
has no value. There is nothing in it." Intelligent 
prayer that has value in the devotional life is made 
with the understanding that even a wise earthly par- 
ent will not put all his resources at the control of a 
child's ignorance and inexperience. It will realize 
that because God is all-powerful and all-wise and all- 
loving he will surely give at our request those things 

40 



THE VALUE OF PRAYER 

that he knows to be good. It will bear in mind that 
he will also withhold the things which in our igno- 
rance we believe to be best, but which he knows are 
not what we think they are and which, were they 
received, would be hurtful to us. The test of faith 
in prayer is not to try to wrest from God the thing 
desired. It is to crave something with all the heart, 
then to lay the whole matter before the Father, ask- 
ing that he give or withhold as he sees best ; that his 
will be done, accepting the result, whatsoever it may 
be, as God's wise and loving answer to our prayer. 

Forms of Prayer 

For prayer to have its highest value it is necessary 
that it be expressed in words that are fully under- 
stood and that truly express the desires of the heart. 
Hence "forms of prayer" should be used with dis- 
crimination and great care. Too often the only 
training in prayer which a child receives is to teach 
him a form which does not truly voice his wishes or 
his feelings. Thus he is developed into a mere "sayer 
of prayers." In addition, the words are often unfa- 
miliar and hence to him are meaningless. 

Nevertheless, there is value in the careful use of 
forms of prayer. After he has been trained to ex- 
press his own desires in words that are familiar, the 
child can learn the Lord's Prayer and some other 
forms that are comprehensive and which, because of 
their wording, deepen a feeling of reverence. Choice 
forms of prayer have crystallized in them the spirit 
and aspirations of the ages and because of their com- 
prehensiveness and dignity are a valuable factor in 
the training of the devotional life. 

41 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Well-Rounded Prayer Life 

It is important to note in passing the value of a 
well-rounded prayer life, which, beginning with pri- 
vate prayer, broadens into family prayer and then 
into prayer with the worshiping congregation. Un- 
less the father and mother set their seal on the im- 
portance of prayer by praying themselves with their 
children, it will be exceedingly difficult to give prayer 
its real place in the lives of those children. Unless 
the family prayer be broadened into the prayer of 
the whole congregation, no young person can truly 
grasp in all its fullness the meaning of "Our Fa- 
ther," with its wonderful implication of brotherhood 
with all men, and will have difficulty in coming to a 
world vision of the Fatherhood of God. Not with- 
out good reason are we urged to "forsake not the as- 
sembling of ourselves together." 

We are to conclude that prayer is of such great 
value that without its' frequent use the devotional 
life will be dwarfed and will wither away. On the 
other hand, it is evident that by the true and intelli- 
gent use of prayer all the power and resources of the 
Infinite are open to our need. We are to "pray with- 
out ceasing" and "in everything by prayer and sup- 
plication, with thanksgiving let our requests be made 
known unto God." "Evening, and morning, and at 
noon, will I pray, and cry aloud." (Ps. lv. 17.) 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Why is prayer counted of prime importance in the re- 
ligious life? 

2. Which phase of prayer is of the more value to the one 
who prays, the subjective or the objective? Why? 

42 



THE VALUE OF PRAYER 

3. Upon which of the two is the mind of the pray-er usu- 
ally centered? 

4. Is the chief value of intercessory prayer subjective or 
objective? 

5. Children are sometimes taught that God always an- 
swers prayer; that sometimes he answers prayer "Yes" and 
sometimes "No." Is this correct teaching? If not, why not? 

6. When a service of worship for children is interrupted 
by noise, should the children try to pray, or should the 
prayer be omitted? Why? 

7. Give a childhood experience of your own which shows 
what conception of prayer you had formed, or give an in- 
stance when you felt that a prayer was answered. 

8. Analyze your experience. Were your prayers intelli- 
gent? Did you have the true spirit of prayer? 

9. What is the chief value of family prayer? 

10. What is the chief value of prayer with the whole con- 
gregation? 

43 



CHAPTER V 
THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE 

The Purpose of Devotional Bible Study 

In studying the Bible as a devotional book we are 
not concerned primarily with information about the 
Bible nor with questions regarding dates and author- 
ship, but rather with those passages which have ap- 
pealed to the human spirit down through the centu- 
ries because they are the utterances of life. Our 
study of the Bible is for the purpose of a definite 
personal result. It is a study to acquaint the mind 
with the efforts man has made to know God, duty, 
and destiny, and to find inspiration for living in ac- 
cordance with God's will. Adult Christians find the 
Bible a source of encouragement, comfort, and reas- 
surance. How may we, as parents and teachers, aid 
children in discovering and appropriating for their 
own use the spiritual values of the Bible? If we 
wish to do this, if we wish to have children love the 
Bible and intelligently appreciate it as they grow 
older, we must give them a correct knowledge of 
what it is, how it came to us, and of the message it 
contains. 

What Is the Bible? 

First of all, it is not simply a book, but a library of 
sixty-six volumes, written by many different authors, 
who lived at intervals widely separated in time. 
The older part, which we call the Old Testament, 
tells of God's dealings with the Hebrews, a people 

44 




THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE 



whom lie had chosen and who were impressed with 
the belief that God, while just and holy, had little or 
no interest in other peoples. 

Then came the prophets, the great religious teach- 
ers, who protested against this narrow view. They 
taught that Jehovah would not protect the Hebrews 
simply because they claimed him as the God of their 
land and their forefathers ; that he would bless and 
protect those who walked uprightly and dealt justly 
(Amos v. and vi.). That the teaching of the proph- 
ets broadened the thought of the people concerning 
God is shown by the books of Ruth and Jonah. The 
books of the Old Testament tell how the people again 
and again forsook Jehovah and went over to the wor- 
ship of idols, influenced by the customs of their 
neighbors, until they were finally cured by means of 
the Babylonian exile. This exile the prophets inter- 
preted to mean that the Hebrews would never be- 
come a great nation politically, but that their special 
mission was to give the world the true religion. 

What We Learn from the Old Testament 

The Old Testament is, therefore, a record of the 
history, life, and institutions of the people of Israel, 
in which are set forth their religious ideas and hopes 
and their ceremonies. From it we learn how, through 
the experiences of individuals and of the nation and 
through the teaching of the prophets, they came to 
know more perfectly the character of God and their 
religion became more spiritual. In our study of the 
various books we may trace the growth of this knowl- 
edge of God as we follow the course of a river wind- 
ing through highlands and lowlands until it reaches 

45 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

its outlet in the great ocean. Many stories and in- 
cidents reflect the standards of the time, and we 
will not regard these as perfect in themselves, but as 
stages in the development of a higher, more noble 
conception of God, which was finally revealed in its 
fullness in the life and teaching of our Lord, as re- 
corded in the New Testament. 

How Did We Get Our Bible? 

Christian people make no claim, as do Mohamme- 
dans and Mormons, that the book which they hold sa- 
cred came down to them from the skies or was dic- 
tated by the archangel Gabriel. The Bible was orig- 
inally written in three different languages — Hebrew, 
Aramaic, and Greek. The larger part of the Old 
Testament was written in Hebrew, which was for- 
merly spoken by the people of Israel, but afterwards 
gave place to Aramaic, the language of Palestine at 
the time of Christ. This language is used chiefly in 
the books of Ezra and Daniel. The manuscripts of 
the New Testament which have been preserved for 
us were written in Greek — not the Greek of the clas- 
sics, but the conversational Greek which was used by 
the common people. 

How Was It Brought Together? 

By what process were the individual books of the 
Bible brought together in a single collection? We 
have no definite information as to the time or proc- 
ess with regard to the older books. The Hebrew Old 
Testament contains three parts — the Law, the Proph- 
ets, and the Writings. Of these divisions, the books 
comprising the first two were probably brought to- 

46 



THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE 

gether very early. Whether or not some of the books 
of the last group should be regarded as a part of 
the Hebrew Bible was not finally decided until al- 
most a century after Christ. The books which were 
longest in dispute were Ecclesiastes, Esther, and the 
Song of Songs. The collection of New Testament 
books as we have them to-day was determined finally 
by the Church Council of Carthage in 397 A.D. It 
did not include all that had been written about Je- 
sus, nor all the letters written by the apostles. "Very 
likely the New Testament Scriptures were collected 
by a process of trying out the reading of epistles and 
gospels and exhortations before the congregations. 
As passages met or failed to meet the human needs, 
there was a call for the repeated reading of some 
works and no call for the re-reading of others. In 
use some documents proved their sacredness, and 
other documents fell aside into disuse. Before the 
concluding deliberate choice was this selection in 
use by the believers themselves, and the selection 
turned round the question as to whether or not the 
documents helped people." * When the greater com- 
pany of believers found that this test was met, they 
were persuaded that in some way God's Spirit had 
influenced the writing. Christians to-day share this 
belief, and because they find that it meets man's re- 
ligious needs the Bible is to them a sacred book. 

Translations 

During the Middle Ages, before the invention of 
printing, few people had the opportunity of reading 

*F. J. McConnell, in "Understanding the Scriptures." 
47 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

the Bible for themselves, and there grew up among 
some of the officials of the Church of Rome the be- 
lief that it was too sacred for the common people or 
that they would be unable to interpret it correctly ; 
so the earlier translators into English were driven 
from the Church. Tyndale, who while yet a youth 
declared his intention, if his life were spared, to 
make it possible for the plowboy to know more of the 
Bible than the pope himself, succeeded in having pub- 
lished only his translations of the New Testament, 
the Pentateuch, and the book of Jonah before he was 
condemned as a heretic and suffered martyrdom by 
fire. His work was, however, of great assistance to 
those who have since made translations, several of 
which have appeared ; and since in every living lan- 
guage the meanings of words undergo changes, there 
will continue to be need for occasional new trans- 
lations. 

Thus we see the long process through which the 
Bible has been collected, preserved, and handed down 
to us as a precious legacy. For its preservation we 
are indebted to the same Spirit which inspired the 
men who wrote it. At various times its purpose — 
namely, to teach all men to know God and his plan 
for their lives — has been temporarily hindered even 
by those who professed to be its friends. When, how- 
ever, the Bible has been rediscovered, as in the days 
of King Josiah and later in the times of John Huss 
and Martin Luther, a great religious reformation has 
followed. In every period of its history its worth 
has been proved. 

48 



THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE 

How the Bible May Be Used 

With but very few exceptions, the children whom 
we wish to train to use the Bible will be connected 
with a Sunday school ; and the lessons taught there, 
with their correlated passages, will make pupils ac- 
quainted with many portions of Scripture suited to 
devotional purposes. Until the junior period is 
reached, children will not be expected to read from 
the Bible itself, unless it be short passages definitely 
selected by parents ; but primary children should be 
made familiar with many Bible stories through hav- 
ing these told or read to them. The father or moth- 
er should take the time to read through the stories 
first, selecting the parts which will appeal to the 
child, omitting when it is best to shorten the story, 
but leaving a connected whole. 

Passages Suitable for Children 
To have a real value for the child, the Bible story 
must be related to his experience, interest, or needs. 
Two children who had heard some of the Abraham 
stories were playing together. A question arose as 
to how they should divide their toys. At last one 
said: "Let's one of us be Abraham and the other 
Lot, and we will divide without quarreling, as they 
did." So much of the story had been read to them. 
The remainder, concerning Lot's selfishness and its 
results, had been left for a later period, when other 
problems would have to be solved. Other passages 
which little children enjoy are the story of the be- 
ginnings, of the flood and the rainbow, parts of sto- 
ries of the patriarchs and of Moses, Samuel, Ruth, 
and David, and, from the New Testament, stories of 
4 49 . 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Jesus and his friends. In making selections one 
should always ask herself: "Of what value is this 
story to the little children for whose religious growth 
and development I am responsible?" If any part of 
the story will create a wrong impression on the child 
mind, omit that part until years of fuller under- 
standing are reached. We think it worth while to 
acquaint children with the lives of such men as 
Washington and Lincoln through some very simple 
stories or incidents in their lives long before the lit- 
tle ones are able to comprehend the more important 
contribution which these great men made to our na- 
tional life. In like manner we should use the stories 
Of Bible characters. For example, the stories we 
would tell little children about Ruth would be those 
of her love for her mother, her unwillingness to let 
the mother take the long journey alone, and of how 
she cared for her by gathering grain from the fields 
for their food. The stories of David will be those of 
his shepherd life and of how, through his music, he 
soothed and cheered an unhappy king. 

Memory Texts 

In connection with the stories used in the Sunday 
school, teachers should never fail to teach the mem- 
ory texts and to review them frequently. Small 
booklets with a few Bible verses arranged for daily 
reading throughout the year are frequently appre- 
ciated and used by children. One girl of eight years, 
who prizes such a booklet, has memorized many pas- 
sages through reading them to her dolls. When Bi- 
ble stories are read to children, it is much better to 
read them from the Bible than from one of the many 

50 



THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE 

collections of Bible stories rewritten for children. 
No such collection has jet been made in which the 
language has not suffered, and usually the tone has 
been lowered. These rewritten stories are frequently 
light and flippant in contrast to the deep organ tones 
of the Bible story itself. 

Bible Stories for Juniors 

If junior children are encouraged to do the read- 
ing assigned for each day in the Junior Graded Les- 
sons, committing to memory the passages assigned 
for this purpose, it will assist greatly in forming the 
habit of going to the Bible daily and will also serve 
to acquaint the boy or girl with much of the Bible. 
If the Uniform Lessons are used, children should be 
encouraged to use the "Home Readings" in the same 
way. The lessons of the Junior Graded Course are 
selected for the purpose of nourishing the religious 
lives of boys and girls with stories of heroism and 
moral courage; and the value of the correlated pas- 
sages is very greatly enhanced when pupils are 
taught, as they are in this course, to connect them 
with experiences which called them forth. Thus the 
courage of the boy David forms a setting for the 
Psalm, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, 
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my 
life, of whom shall I be afraid?" while Psalm cxxi., 
"The Lord is thy keeper. ... He will not suffer thy 
foot to be moved. . . . He that keepeth thee shall not 
slumber," is framed in the experiences of the youth 
Joseph. Other lessons ask for the memorization of 
the commandments in connection with the stories of 
the giving of the law. 

51 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

A boy whose mother gave much thought to her 
son's religious growth selected the passages for his 
Bible-reading almost entirely from the Old Testa- 
ment until he had reached his twelfth year. Then 
she began with him a rather intensive study of the 
life and teachings of Jesus. The boy was deeply im- 
pressed. He questioned why people did not follow 
Christ and do as he said, and then whether a man 
could do so and still make a living for his family. 
His interest was the greater because the passages 
came with freshness. They could not have had this 
in the same measure had he been required to memo- 
rize them (as is often done in Sunday schools) be- 
fore he was able to comprehend their meaning. 

Courses of Study for Adolescents 

In the Intermediate Graded Course the Biblical 
material is not given as readings for each day, ex- 
cept in the fourth quarter; but the passages are of 
sufficient length to provide for their use in this way, 
and it would certainly make the lessons more inter- 
esting to pupils and less difficult for the teacher if 
the thoughts of all were thus centered upon the les- 
son theme during the week. In fact, each lesson cov- 
ers so much ground that it cannot be properly taught 
in one period unless thoughtful preparation is made 
during the week. Aside from the study of the Sun- 
day school lesson, the easiest and most natural meth- 
od of using the Bible is that of a sympathetic read- 
ing, bearing in mind the suggestions of the earlier 
part of the chapter, judging authors and characters 
by the standards of their own time, and recognizing 
how far superior the men and women of the Bible 

52 



THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE 

were in most respects to the people about them and 
how much of value there is for our own time in their 
religious experiences and teachings. Better than 
merely reading is the study of passages under given 
themes. If this is done in a family group, the dis- 
cussion will always bring out devotional thoughts 
that do not suggest themselves to one studying alone. 
The re-reading of a passage later for purposes of 
private devotion and meditation is to be commend- 
ed. 

Older young people will find the arrangement of 
Biblical material in the College Voluntary Courses 
helpful. These consist of twelve lessons each. They 
are arranged with a passage of Scripture, comments, 
and an application to present-day problems or con- 
ditions for each day's meditations, and the study for 
the entire week is gathered about a central theme. 
These courses were originally intended to form a ba- 
sis for the period of Bible study and prayer generally 
known as the "Morning Watch." A different meth- 
od is that of the study of the Bible by books — that 
is, by reading a book through, as, for example, the 
Gospel of Mark, the Epistle of James, or the book of 
Amos. A study of the book will, however, require 
more than one reading. The first will give the au- 
thor's general line of thought, and for this purpose 
the book should be read at a sitting. Later it may 
be read a few verses at a time, and the passages that 
especially appeal may be marked as one indicates the 
most beautiful lines when studying a poem. Young 
people read much. Why should they not read the 
Bible? 

53 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Why do Christian people study the Bible? 

2. What does the Old Testament set forth? 

3. Why is it more valuable than other writings of its age? 

4. Why are new translations of the Bible needed? 

5. Why do we not now use the first translations that were 
made? 

6. Had the Bible been merely a product of human minds, 
do you think it would have survived to the present day? 

7. Why is it valuable to train children to read the Bible 
daily? 

8. Would it be as well to read a longer passage once a 
week? 

9. How do you select the Bible passages for your daily 
devotions? 

54 



CHAPTER VI 
WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

"Whereas the Holy Spirit saw that mankind is 
unto virtue hardly drawn, and that righteousness is 
the less accounted of by reason of the proneness of 
our affections to that which delighteth, it pleased the 
wisdom of the same Spirit to borrow from melody 
that pleasure which, mingled with heavenly myste- 
ries, causeth the smoothness and softness of that 
which toucheth the ear, to convey, as it were, by 
stealth the treasure of good things into man's mind." 
(St. Basil.) 

From time immemorial music has been used in 
connection with religious ceremonies. Crude songs 
and chants kindled the religious emotions of primi- 
tive and barbarous peoples, and as civilization ad- 
vanced higher forms of musical expression were de- 
veloped. The ancient Egyptians and Assyrians 
handed down their theories to the Greeks and He- 
brews, by whom they were transformed and elabo- 
rated, and it is from their productions that the mu- 
sic of the Christian Church has developed. 

The Music of the Hebrew Temple 

It was but natural that the same spirit which gave 
rise to the eloquent lyrics and epics of the Bible 
should also express itself in music, and among the 
Hebrews much attention was given to this subject. 
"The care of the sacred music" was intrusted to the 
Levites. In the schools conducted by them groups 
of vocalists and instrumentalists were trained. The 

55 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

musicians of Solomon's Temple consisted of soloists, 
trained choirs, a great chorus of the people, and an 
orchestra. Some of the Psalms were chanted antiph- 
onally, one choir responding to another, while the 
refrain was sung by the great chorus of the people. 
The grandeur and impressiveness of this part of the 
service were such as to make the most magnificent 
musical services of our day pale into insignificance. 
Josephus, in his "History of the Jews," states that 
in the first temple there were two hundred thousand 
silver trumpets, two hundred thousand coats of the 
finest silk, ordered by the king for the use of the 
singers, and forty thousand harps and psalteries 
made of the purest copper. While these figures are 
doubtless exaggerated, they do indicate that the mu- 
sical services were of such grandeur as to give rise 
to extravagant statements. The author of Second 
Chronicles (v. 11-14) eloquently describes how the 
glory of Jehovah filled the house of God when the 
singers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, psalter- 
ies, and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and 
with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding 
with trumpets; and "the trumpeters and singers 
were as one, to make one sound to be heard in prais- 
ing and thanking Jehovah, . . . saying, For he is 
good, for his loving-kindness endureth forever." 

Music in the Early Church 

We know little of the music used by the early 
Christians. The New Testament mentions that aft- 
er partaking of the last supper Jesus and the elev- 
en disciples sang a hymn, probably Psalms cxvii. 
and cxviii., which were part of the Passover hymn ; 

56 



WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

and St. Paul indicated the custom of the groups of 
worshipers when he wrote of "speaking one to an- 
other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing- 
ing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" 
(Eph. v. 19), and of "teaching and admonishing one 
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, 
singing with grace in your hearts unto God." (Col. 
iii. 16.) Another indication that music formed an 
important part of the service of worship among the 
early Christians was the discovery a decade ago of a 
Syriac manuscript which proved to be an early 
Christian psalter. The collection was found bound 
up with the Psalms of David, and we may believe 
that both collections were used by the Church in 
Palestine. 

Among the Gentile Converts 

The music of the early Gentile converts was doubt- 
less very simple. They were not familiar with the 
services of the Jewish temple and must, therefore, 
have adapted to the purposes of their worship the 
kind of music used by the Greeks and Romans among 
whom they lived. During the centuries in which 
they were persecuted and despised and compelled to 
hold their meetings in secret there was little oppor- 
tunity for either the use or development of music; 
yet amid these dangers it was used and was a means 
of consolation to these devout disciples, as well as 
a means of voicing their praise. When persecution 
ceased, however, in the fourth century and churches 
were erected, choirs were introduced and efforts 
made to improve the character of the music used in 
the service. The Emperor Charlemagne gave much 

57 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

encouragement and support to Church music, desir- 
ing to make it a more worthy vehicle of divine wor- 
ship. In many important cities of his kingdom he 
founded schools of sacred song and himself is said 
to have occasionally conducted the choir at Aix-la- 
Chapelle. A writer of this period says: "The mel- 
odies of the singers shall uplift the people to love 
of divine things through the inspiration of the words 
as much as through the tune." 

The Influence of the Reformation 

With the coming of the Eeformation a great im- 
petus was given to the development of music. The 
Protestant Church rejected the old ritualistic serv- 
ice of the Church of Eome and urged congregational 
singing. Up to this time music had been purely mel- 
odic. All the singers sang in unison. Now part- 
singing was introduced. The organ came gradually 
into use in the Church service and in the time of 
Bach was recognized as a foremost force of spiritual 
influence, the majestic character of its tone making 
it especially suited to the dignity and solemnity of 
worship. England produced the great hymns and 
anthems which have been called the glory of the 
English Church; while in Germany, in addition to 
the hymns, there were developed the choral and later 
the great oratorios, such as "The Creation" and 
"The Messiah," the words of which are selected Bi- 
ble passages arranged around a central theme. 

Music in American Churches 

Among the early settlers who influenced most 
strongly the religious life of America, music was not 

58 



WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

held in high repute. All that savored of sensuous- 
ness or display was strictly avoided. Instrumental 
music was considered the invention of the evil one, 
and singing was restricted to the use of a few well- 
known tunes. Later this extreme narrowness was 
outgrown, and in the early history of American 
Methodism the singing of hymns played an impor- 
tant part in the revivals and in other services of the 
Church. Many of the great hymns now in use, writ- 
ten by Charles Wesley and other hymn writers, were 
then introduced and fitly expressed the fervent re- 
ligious life of these pioneer Christians. Accompany- 
ing the rapid expansion of our country and the es- 
tablishment of rural Sunday schools, there developed 
a need for songs of a simpler type which were suited 
to the experience of young life. Owing to a lack of 
knowledge of the ideals of religious education, the 
error was frequently made of trying to meet this 
need by introducing into the Sunday school songs 
which, in words as well as in music, were light and 
frivolous. Only within the past few years have col- 
lections of good hymns suitable for use in the Sun- 
day schools been made generally available. The 
greater number of songs in the books used until re- 
cently in Sunday schools were not devotional in 
character. They did not stimulate awe and rever- 
ence and faith. And where such selections are used 
to-day children sing because they like the rhythm, 
the jingle, and the noise, but with no more thought 
of worship than if they were going through an exer- 
cise in gymnastics or singing the multiplication 
tarie. 

59 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Children Not Taught to Be Attentive to Good Music 

Conditions such as are described above are also re- 
sponsible for the fact that very many children and 
young people of the Sunday school do not under- 
stand or appreciate good music. Many have learned 
to like that with which they are familiar. Until re- 
cently comparatively few schools have had good or- 
gans or pianos and musicians able to use them well. 
Consequently the pupils have been denied one of the 
most valuable aids to worship — namely, the oppor- 
tunity to listen to good music and to appreciate its 
message. How often to-day do we sit in a church in 
which architectural beauty, the hymns, and the 
prayer all unite in lifting one's thoughts to God, 
but when the organist begins to play the offertory it 
seems to be but a signal for whisperings through- 
out the whole church! The congregation has not 
learned to worship through listening to the message 
of the music. Yet it is the listening attitude to 
which poets always refer when they allude to the 
power of music. Milton said, after listening to 
Church music, that it seemed to bring all heaven be- 
fore his sightless eyes. Can we not teach our pupils 
that the purpose of music in this part of the service 
is to bring to God an offering of beauty as well as 
of money, and that with this offering, as with prayer, 
one may "join in" by listening? It will help in the 
teaching of this lesson if the offerings in the school 
are taken also in a spirit of worship. 

What Is the Purpose of Church Music? 

The purpose of music in the church or the Sunday 
school service is worship. When it fails of this pur- 

60 



WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

pose, it has no place in the program. The singing 
of insipid or sentimental verses set to light and 
catchy music is deplorable because it deprives chil- 
dren of their right to the spiritual enrichment which 
comes from the use of the best hymns. But, more 
than this, it is a positive injury, because it culti- 
vates a taste for that which will not permanently 
satisfy, and when the reaction comes the whole in- 
fluence of the school is often looked upon with dis- 
favor. There are educated men and women to-day 
who despise the Sunday school because the name 
suggests, among other things, a kind of music of 
which they now so greatly disapprove. A few 
months ago a university professor stated that he 
could not be persuaded to permit his children to 
attend Sunday school. A few questions revealed the 
fact that since the severance of his own connection 
with the Sunday school, more than twenty years ago, 
he had not kept in touch with the efforts made for 
its improvement. He knew nothing of the introduc- 
tion of graded lessons, of more suitable hymn books, 
nor of the serious thought given in many places to the 
working out of an appropriate program of worship. 
It must be conceded, however, that very many 
schools to-day are no better than was the one he at- 
tended two decades ago. 

Music in Departmental Worship 

Worship conducted in the separate departments 
makes possible the use of very simple hymns for lit- 
tle children, hymns suited to their understanding 
and to their religious experience; for music should 
be a form of self-expression. Why would one not use 

61 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

in a primary department such hymns as "There Is a 
Fountain Filled with Blood" or "At the Cross" or 
"Shall We Gather at the River?" (children, by the 
way, usually say "gather up the river") ? Why is it 
appropriate to use "Can a Little Child Like Me?" or 
"I Think When I Read That Sweet Story of Old" or 
"The King of Love My Shepherd Is" ? Junior boys 
and girls enjoy hymns of courage and action, such 
as "Brightly Gleams Our Banner," "Soldiers of 
Christ, Arise," "The Son of God Goes Forth to War," 
and "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations." They 
do not care for a very large number of hymns. It 
is better to have a few well selected and well learned. 
If hymns appropriate to the season are sung and not 
used again till the season returns, they will come 
with new freshness, and pupils will enjoy them be- 
cause they already know them. 

A Common Service of Worship 

Departmental worship has obvious advantages in 
the opportunity that it gives for training. In every 
school, however, there should be a common service 
of worship at least once a month. This will natural- 
ly be held in the church auditorium, and the church 
organ will be used. Here the child will hear the great 
hymns of the Church. He needs them, and he enjoys 
them. Here he will join in prayer with boys and 
girls, young people, fathers and mothers, and grand- 
parents. The child needs to worship with them, and 
they need to worship with the children. When such 
services are held, some schools vary the program oc- 
casionally by asking the organist to play a selection 
from a great musician. Sometimes a few words of 

62 



WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

explanation are given about the selection and the 
author's thought in writing it, and the pupils are 
asked to recognize the note of praise and adoration 
or that of confession and supplication in the music. 
At the end of the chapter is given a list of suitable 
organ selections for this purpose. Having observed 
through a period of several years the influence of the 
use of music in this way, the writer believes that no 
other part of the pupils' training in the school con- 
tributes so largely to the cultivation of a spirit of 
reverence. In a common service of worship a chil- 
dren's choir will aid greatly in leading the music. 
It also adds to the dignity and impressiveness of the 
service to have the choir sing the "Amen" and, be- 
fore the prayer, a sentence, such as "The Lord is in 
his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before 
him." 

Teaching through Music 
Although intended primarily for purposes of wor- 
ship, music also serves to teach and instruct Some 
of our great hymns teach in a most effective way the 
character of God. When we sing "Holy, Holy, Holy, 
Lord God Almighty," both the words and the music 
impress upon our minds God's holiness. "There's a 
Wideness in God's Mercy" teaches his loving-kind- 
ness and tender mercy; "God Is My Strong Salva- 
tion" and "What a Friend ^Ye Have in Jesus!" his 
companionship, his readiness to give aid and 
strength; and "O Love of God, How Strong and 
True !" and "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go !" teach 
his unfailing love. But a hymn would fail of its 
purpose if it were written primarily to instruct. In- 
formation should first be given through experience 

63 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

or the story of the experience of others; then the 
truth learned may be reenforced through the awak- 
ening of the emotions and the strengthening of the 
will. A boy has been taught that he should be cour- 
ageous, and he admires the man who shows great 
courage; but being brave himself under trying cir- 
cumstances is a difficult matter, and he needs to have 
his emotions aroused so that they will carry him 
over his natural inclination to be afraid. In such 
cases his own resolutions will be mightily strength- 
ened through such hymns as "Fight the Good Fight" 
and "True-Hearted, Whole-Hearted." There are 
spiritual teachings that make little impression when 
couched in common speech, but which live and glow 
when made the theme of a noble hymn. What so 
inspires trust and confidence in God as "O Wor- 
ship the King" or, with the little children, "All 
Things Bright and Beautiful"? 

Care in the Selection of Hymns 

Too strong emphasis cannot be placed upon the 
need for a careful selection of the hymns used in the 
Sunday school. Who forgets the songs of his child- 
hood ? Even though the words are not remembered, 
the impression remains. If the music is poor, the 
sentiment trivial, or the teaching false, probably no 
subsequent religious experiences will wholly erase 
them from the memory. On the other hand, a knowl- 
edge of the best hymns and the ability to use them 
will prove to be a storehouse of spiritual wealth 
which will not lie unused, but will exert a vital and 
enduring influence in favor of right conduct. It 
was a wise man who said: "Give me the making of 

64 



WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

the songs of a people, and I care not who makes 
their laws." 

Hymns and Carols Which Every Child Should Know 
before Leaving the Junior Department 

Selections for Christmas. — "Joy to the .World," 
"Holy Night," "It Came upon a Midnight Clear," 
"O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Hark ! the Herald 
Angels Sing," "While Shepherds Watched Their 
Flocks," "There's a Song in the Air," "The First 
Noel." 

Selections for Easter. — "Christ the Lord Is Risen 
To-Day," "The Little Flowers Came through the 
Ground," "Hark ! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices," 
"Coronation Hymn" (tune, "Miles Lane"), "Rejoice, 
the Lord Is King," "Crown Him with Many Crowns," 
"Light of the World," "The Day of Resurrection." 

Selections for Thanksgiving. — "Come, Ye Thank- 
ful People, Come," "For the Beauty of the Earth," 
"Praise to God," "We Plow the Fields," "The Sum- 
mer Days." 

Organ Selections Which Can Be Used in a Service of 
Worship 1 

"Chorus of the Pilgrims," Wagner; "Hallelujah 
Chorus," from "The Messiah," Handel; "Hero's 
March," Mendelssohn; "Intermezzo," from "Caval- 
leria Rusticana," Mascagni ; "Largo," Handel ; "Lar- 
go," from the "New World Symphony," Dvorak; 
"March" and "Chorus" from "Tannhauser," Wag- 
ner; "March of the Magi Kings," Dubois; "Minu- 

1 Hugh Hartshorne, in "Manual for Training in "Worship." 
5 65 



WORSHIP THROUGH MUSIC 

ette," from "The Gothic Suite," Boelmann; "March 
Militaire," Schubert; "Pastoral Symphony," from 
"The Messiah," Handel; "Priests' March," from 
"Athalie," Mendelssohn; "Traumerei" and "Ro- 
mance," Schumann; "Walter's Prize Song," from 
"Die Meistersinger," Wagner. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Why is music an important part of a service of wor- 
ship? 

2. Describe the music of the Hebrew temple. 

3. Give the history of Church music in America. 

4. What efforts are being made at present to improve 
Church music? 

5. What is the purpose of the offertory? 

6. How can we worship by means of instrumental music? 

7. What results would follow if Churches would give an 
organ recital for children once a month? 

8. What two functions do the great hymns of the Church 
serve? 



CHAPTEE VII 

TESTIMONY 

Jesus was approaching the multitude which had 
gathered from "Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the 
region round about Jordan" to listen to the message 
of repentance and of the coming of Messiah. See- 
ing him, John the Baptist cried : "Behold the Lamb 
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." 
"I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son 
of God." Because of his testimony, two of John's 
disciples followed Jesus. Because these disciples tes- 
tified, "We have found the Messiah," "We have found 
him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did 
write," yet other followers were won to him. Since 
that time much of the progress that the cause of 
Christ has made in the world is due, on the one hand, 
to the silent testimony to his power made by the 
lives of his followers and, on the other hand, to spo- 
ken words which "testify of him." 

Testimony Defined 

The word "testimony" implies a trial and persons 
who testify, or are witnesses. It also implies others 
who are to be convinced by testimony of the truth or 
falsity of the matter under consideration. When 
Christ said to his disciples, "Ye shall be my wit- 
nesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Sa- 
maria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth," 
he showed that he was on trial and that the world 

67 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

would have to be convinced by the testimony of his 
witnesses to the truth of his claims. 

Testimony a Duty 

Christ is on trial to each new generation as it 
arises. Since, therefore, testimony in his behalf must 
be presented continually, the obligation resting upon 
a Christian to serve as a witness is evident. The 
words, "We can but speak the things which we have 
seen and heard," spoken by Peter and John to the 
Sanhedrin, apply here. At this time consideration 
will not be given to witness-bearing by means of the 
life or example. It is, however, evident that if spo- 
ken testimony is to be of value, it must be given by a 
person whose life will bear close scrutiny. The tes- 
timony of John the Baptist was supported by the 
character of the forerunner, which stood all tests. 
It has been well said : "How can I hear what you 
say when what you are is thundering in my ears?" 

In the early history of Methodism much emphasis 
was laid on spoken testimony. Class meetings and 
love feasts were given over in large measure to the 
relating of Christian experience, while in these lat- 
ter days testimony seems somewhat neglected. Yet 
the words of the Psalmist, "Come and hear, all ye 
that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done 
for my soul," still find ready response in the heart 
of the earnest Christian. 

Results of Testifying to One Who Testifies 

Certain important results appear in the devotional 
life of the Christian who testifies. The truth of the 
familiar law that expression deepens impression is 

68 



TESTIMONY 

evidenced here. As Christ is confessed openly, he 
becomes a more real and vital factor in the life. As 
blessings received are counted over, a fuller grati- 
tude to God fills the heart. As deliverances are de- 
scribed, there is a deepening of the faith in God's 
love and care. The Christian life of the witness is 
given definiteness and in a sense is made more per- 
manent by spoken testimony. "I believe, therefore 
have I spoken," may also read : "Because I have spo- 
ken, I more truly believe." 

Courage is another valuable result that comes to 
the young Christian who testifies. Frequently he 
makes his first attempt with trembling knees, with 
broken utterances, with tongue almost literally 
cleaving to the roof of his mouth. By degrees, how- 
ever, he gains ease and assurance, and the courage 
thus secured enters as an element into his whole 
life. 

Value to Others 

Perhaps the chief value of testimony lies in its 
effect upon others. A humble Welsh servant girl 
spoke a "gude word for Jesus Christ" in a small 
prayer meeting of apparently listless and indifferent 
people. Because of this testimony, all Wales was 
swept by a marvelous revival, and the whole Chris- 
tian world felt the uplift. In a town where public 
sentiment did not approve of a woman speaking in 
public, a little old woman, truly devout, but unlet- 
tered, poor, and homely, because of her conviction of 
duty stood up continually in meetings and added her 
testimony to the power of Christ in human life. 
Long after her death one of the young girls, who had 
often smiled scofiingly and contemptuously at her 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

broken words, was herself at length brought to know 
the Father. The first conviction that came red-hot 
into her mind was that she must testify, must bear 
witness to the faith that was in her. To her mind 
it was clear that it was the sincere and earnest tes- 
timony, often given with tears, of the faithful old 
woman which was thus bearing fruit. In like fash- 
ion multiplied thousands of men and women have 
been impressed and won. Spoken testimony, backed 
up by an earnest Christian character, can put the in- 
fidel to silence and can aid in making way for the 
onward march of the Son of God. "I know that my 
Redeemer liveth," "I know whom I have believed" 
cannot be gainsaid when the life of the witness shows 
evidence of that knowledge. 

Some Dangers to Adults 

In any consideration of testimony there are some 
dangers which must be noted. In a time of testing, 
when Christianity is under fire, young and old aliKe 
must respond, and there can be no danger to the in- 
dividual in so doing. When, however, it comes to 
the matter of telling Christian experiences, several 
things should be considered. For some people, dwell- 
ing upon personal experience causes them to grow 
morbid and too introspective. They are continually 
digging at the roots of their Christian life and do 
not give it a chance to grow. Christians of this type 
come easily to mind. 

There is sometimes danger in telling too frequent- 
ly or without urgent reason some deep experience of 
the inner life. In this way its power is dissipated 
and its meaning lost. Very frequently, too, that sub- 

70 



TESTIMONY 

tlest of all faults, spiritual pride, is engendered. 
"The secret of the Lord" should sometimes be unspo- 
ken and, buried deep in the heart, should be left to 
express itself in other ways. 

There is always the danger of unconscious insin- 
cerity, or of what may be termed unconscious cant. 
This comes of telling a former experience without 
first making sure that it still expresses the real at- 
titude and desire of the heart. Every one is famil- 
iar with persons who give as testimony experiences 
which happened many years ago and which do not 
in any sense reflect their present state of grace. Tes- 
timony, to be effective, must bear marks of life and 
growth. 

A Danger to Youth 

In dealing with children and youth there is a dan- 
ger which is so frequently disregarded and which is 
so disastrous in its results that it needs special em- 
phasis. One of the greatest injuries that can be in- 
flicted upon the spiritual life is to force it to a pre- 
mature and abnormal expression. That a child is 
capable of a true religious life cannot be questioned. 
That this life can be expressed in modes which are 
normal and childlike is also true, but testifying in 
public meetings should not be included among them. 
Junior or "juvenile" organizations often err at this 
point. So do evangelists or leaders of revival serv- 
ices. Not only should young children be protected 
from improper methods at this point, but adolescent 
boys and girls should not be asked or required to 
speak in public of the details of their Christian ex- 
perience. A certain reserve about the emotions and 
the various phases of the inner life is normal during 

71 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

this time of transition and is God-intended to safe- 
guard the hidden processes of change and of develop- 
ment. The adolescent boy or girl who testifies easi- 
ly or fluently in public is not usually the type of boy 
that commands the respect and following of his fel- 
lows. It is seldom that he develops into a stalwart 
Christian character. A hyacinth bulb was once 
placed in a glass of water. It was kept in a dark 
closet until the mass of roots was fully formed. 
Then, through lack of knowledge of the laws of 
growth, it was placed at once on a window sill in 
the full light of the sun. Instead of great spikes of 
perfect bloom, there were grown stunted clusters, 
which under the premature stimulation began to 
open into misshapen flowers while yet partly under- 
ground. It had been brought to the light too soon. 
So the young religious natures stimulated to prema- 
ture adult modes of expression will never develop 
into full perfection, but will produce dwarfed and 
misshapen characters as the result of being brought 
to the light too soon. The normal development of 
young religious life is a gradual, quiet process and 
should never be forced or hurried. 

On the other hand, there is a kind of testimony, 
not necessarily spoken, which, instead of being hurt- 
ful in its results, is essential to the proper develop- 
ment of Christian character. This is the testimony 
which the Christian gives by showing on all occa- 
sions whole-hearted loyalty to Jesus Christ. In old- 
en times the cry, "Who is on the Lord's side?" was 
a test by means of which the true followers of Jeho- 
vah were revealed. In modern life many emergencies 
arise when all professed followers of Jesus are called 

72 



TESTIMONY 

on to show their colors and to prove that they are 
truly loyal to him and to his cause. In the lives of 
adults these tests come in the home life, in business, 
in politics, in society, and wherever else men and 
women confront life's issues. The child or young 
person who has formed a conscious relationship with 
Christ can give to him the testimony of loyalty and 
can be led to appreciate its importance. The every- 
day incidents that occur at home or at school give 
many opportunities for showing this loyalty. Youth 
naturally responds to the thought that Christian tes- 
timony can be given by means of genuine loyalty 
which may make itself known by the choices made 
or by action taken. Such testimony is normal and 
in response to proper training will be freely given. 

Later, when maturity of experience justifies, the 
young person can be led to add the spoken word of 
testimony to that service which he has been giving 
in the spirit of true loyalty. 

"They that feared Jehovah spoke often one to an- 
other : and Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book 
of remembrance was written before him, for them 
that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon his name. 
And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even 
mine own possession, in the day that I do this j 1 and 
I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that 
serveth him." (Mai. iii. 1G, 17.) 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Why is the testimony of the consistent life of moro 
importance than spoken testimony? 

2. Should meetings for the giving of testimony be held 

J See margin. 
73 



THE TKAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

at stated intervals, or should testimony be given when the 
spirit of any meeting makes it appropriate? Why? 

3. Can you recall an instance in your experience when 
you were strongly impressed by the testimony of a Chris- 
tian? 

4. What impression is made upon the hearers when an 
old experience of Christian life is continually retold? 

5. What are some normal ways in which a child can tes- 
tify by showing loyalty to Christ? 

6. What tests at home or at school give opportunity for 
boys and girls to show loyalty to Christ? 

7. How can an adult testify by loyalty to Christ in the 
business or professional world? 

74 



CHAPTER VIII 

WORSHIP THROUGH OFFERING 

A young man carefully shaped a heap of rough 
stones. He went to his flock and, choosing a lamb 
"without blemish," "a firstling of the flock," he laid 
it upon the altar which he had made; and so Abel 
worshiped God acceptably through offering. 

Offering and the Hebrew People 

Wherever the patriarchs wandered they raised al- 
tars and worshiped through the offerings that they 
made. In the service of the tabernacle and later in 
the temple burnt offerings, wave offerings, meat of- 
ferings, lambs, doves, fine flour, first fruits formed 
the chief part of the service of worship of the people 
of God. These various kinds of offerings were a 
part of the educational process experienced by the 
Israelites. While their minds were being prepared 
for the coming of the "Lamb of God," they were also 
being led to understand that all their possessions 
were the gift of God and that, while "the cattle upon 
a thousand hills are his" and he had no personal 
need of their gifts, yet he expected them to give of 
their substance to promote his plans and to support 
his kingdom. The tithe received much emphasis ; the 
people were told plainly that if the tenth were with- 
held they were robbing God. To these people offer- 
ing and worship were well-nigh synonymous terms. 
Without question they obeyed the injunction : "Hon- 
or Jehovah with thy substance, and with the first 

75 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

fruits of thine increase." One of the first signs of the 
spiritual decay of Israel was the neglect of tithes 
and offerings. 

Offerings and the Early Chiircli 

To the early Christians also the thought of wor- 
ship through offerings was familiar. They "brought 
their possessions and laid them at the apostles' feet." 
On the first day of the week they brought their of- 
ferings which had been laid by as "God had pros- 
pered them." 

Present-Day Offerings 

In modern times, however, it too often happens 
that the giving of the offering is called a collection 
and is reckoned as belonging only to the financial 
or business department of the Church. Hence the 
worship element of giving has been overlooked or 
lost. The reasons for this will be clear if the meth- 
od of dealing with offerings in the home and the 
Sunday school are reviewed. 

Often the method followed is that of parents on 
Sunday morning giving the child a coin "to take to 
Sunday school." If he is young, it may be that with 
the other children he sings and marches, dropping 
the money into a basket as a kind of rest exercise. 
If he is older, the possibility is that the money is 
collected by the teacher and put into an envelope, 
this to the child being the end of the matter. In 
neither instance is the process educational, nor does 
it result in a feeling of worship. The child has not 
been taught to know the Heavenly Father as the 
Giver of every good and perfect gift. He does not 

76 



WORSHIP THROUGH OFFERING 

understand that God wants us to use some of these 
good gifts to do his work in the world. When he 
does grasp these two truths with both mind and 
heart, he will truly worship as he gives. 

Ownership a Basis for Giving 

Certain points should be kept clearly in mind. 
That which is given as an expression of worship 
must belong to the person who gives it. The only 
true basis for real giving is a sense of ownership in 
the thing to be given. The giving of money which a 
child has earned and which in consequence he feels 
to be his very own will have real value in educating 
him into a true giver ; while, as was intimated above, 
the giving of money placed casually in his hand for 
him to drop into the basket has little educational 
value. The possession must have been realized as 
his without qualifying clauses. He must have 
weighed the pros and cons of any demand made upon 
it and of his own free will have decided before there 
can be any true giving on his part. In this connec- 
tion attention is called to the importance of a child's 
receiving a stated, regular allowance, even though 
the sum allowed is small. 

As he continually receives this allowance and is 
permitted to exercise his own choice and judgment 
in expending it, he is being prepared to respond 
freely and intelligently to claims for money properly 
presented to his attention. An old man with butter 
for sale carelessly left his basket untended, when it 
was upset, the contents were spoiled, and the old man 
was in deep distress. A little girl near by was con- 
scious of a surge of pity and of desire to help. With 

77 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

a throb of joy she remembered a cherished coin which 
could be given to meet the need. If she had possessed 
no money which she called her own, the generous im- 
pulse would have died for lack of expression. The 
confirming or making permanent such impulses to- 
ward giving constitutes the educational process by 
means of which true givers are developed. 

Stewardship 

Just here there may be place for a brief discussion 
of stewardship. The thought that a Christian is 
God's steward, holding all his possessions in trust 
for him, is receiving much attention whenever the 
affairs of the kingdom are being discussed. It may 
be asked : How can this idea of stewardship be rec- 
onciled with the sense of ownership mentioned 
above? Does a child's experience fit him to respond 
to the thought of God's ownership? or is such re- 
sponse given more easily at a later stage of develop- 
ment ? These are questions that demand careful con- 
sideration. One of the first instincts to manifest 
itself is the sense of possession. The child holds 
tenaciously to the things that he thinks his own. 
When untrained this sense of possession does not 
take account of the ownership of others. To the lit- 
tle child all things are his, and it does not argue in- 
nate depravity for him to take something that does 
not belong to him. The wise parent or teacher rec- 
ognizes the value of this sense of ownership and the 
importance of safeguarding it. So the child is led, 
in the first place, to realize that his treasures have 
been given to him as an expression of love by father, 
mother, or by friends, and he is led to express his ap- 

78 



WORSHIP THROUGH OFFERING 

preciation of these. Since his own property rights 
are respected, he is prepared to recognize and re- 
spect the property rights of others. As we have seen, 
he can be won to divide gladly his possessions with 
a person whom he loves or with one who is in need. 
Nevertheless, these experiences of his which are giv- 
ing direction to the strong instinct of ownership are 
also preparing him to understand that "every good 
gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming 
down from the Father." He readily accepts the fact 
that sunshine and rain, food and home, father and 
mother have come from the loving hands of the Heav- 
enly Father and willingly gives thanks for them. 
He understands and responds when he is taught that 
if he gives to one that needs, Jesus will count it as 
given to him. Farther than this he does not go. If 
after he has received a plaything, a book, anything 
for his very own, his father attempts to reclaim the 
gift, the child will not understand and will resent 
the action. So any attempt to set forth God's claim 
upon the things that he has given would not be un- 
derstood by the child and might even stir a feeling 
of resentment within him. With older children the 
same difficulties present themselves. On the other 
hand, when the adolescent has entered into that pe- 
riod when idealism is at its height, when altruism is 
prompting to self-sacrifice, and when the thought 
of true consecration begins to appeal, if the idea of 
stewardship be properly presented, it will meet with 
understanding, and whole-hearted response will be 
given. Instances like that of young Borden, who 
when twenty-one years of age gave a million dollars 
and his own life as well to further the cause of mis- 

79 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

sions, show the possibilities that lie in this direc- 
tion. 

Knowledge of the Canse Essential to True Giving 

In addition to this sense of ownership, it is neces- 
sary for the person to know something about the 
cause for which gifts are intended and because of 
this knowledge to be interested in that cause. In 
various fields this truth is being recognized, and so 
we have now much emphasis laid on missionary and 
temperance instruction. What the Church needs to 
learn, however, is the fact that the same principle 
can be applied to all claims for which money is need- 
ed, with equally satisfactory results. It needs to 
learn also that if the offerings of the Church are to 
be made an expression of worship, the training will 
have to be given in childhood. 

A Good Plan for Developing Givers 

In a certain Church there are wise leaders of vi- 
sion and insight. So in the Church budget of ex- 
pense there is placed a liberal sum to meet all of the 
expenses of the Sunday school. Then the various 
causes that the Church supports — missions, benevo- 
lence, education, Church extension, Sunday school 
promotion, and others — are each in turn during the 
year brought clearly and fully before the Sunday 
school, and all the money given by the school is ap- 
plied to these causes. This policy has been followed 
for a number of years. In consequence there has 
been brought up a generation of Church members 
who are intelligent, worshipful givers, contributing 

80 



WORSHIP THROUGH OFFERING 

thousands of dollars where other Churches are giv- 
ing hundreds. 

A Faulty Plan 

By way of contrast, let conditions in the great ma- 
jority of Churches be considered. As a rule, the mon- 
ey given by the Sunday school is used to buy Sunday 
school supplies, literature for teachers and pupils, 
songbooks, and other equipment. How can a child 
be taught that the money which he gives on Sunday 
morning is given to God when it is all spent for sup- 
plies which he himself uses, and when oftentimes the 
sum that he gives is not nearly large enough to meet 
all of his own needs? Under such conditions the 
song that says of the coins that the children give, 
"Every one for Jesus; he will get them all," is an 
empty mockery. 

This condition can be remedied best when the 
Church authorities take hold of the matter. Mean- 
while departmental superintendents and teachers can 
do something. There are departmental superintend- 
ents who have two offerings, one for supplies and a 
second for "others." The pupils select by vote the 
purpose to which their real gifts are to be applied. 
A primary superintendent used the birthday money 
as a special fund. Four causes were fully explained 
to the children : Missions, Orphans' Home, the local 
poor, and Sunday school promotion. On the first 
Sunday in each quarter they determined by vote to 
which of the four the money should be given. That 
the children were thoughtful in their voting was evi- 
dent. Once, when for a number of quarters in suc- 
cession they had voted for missions, the departmental 
6 81 



THE TKAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

superintendent brought the matter of needy Sunday 
schools to their attention, saying: "You children do 
not seem to care very much about those Sunday 
schools which are so poor that they do not have the 
beautiful pictures, the little chairs, and the nice pa- 
pers that we have." As quick as a flash a little girl 
made answer: "Well, I think poor Sunday schools 
are better than none ; and the heathen haven't any" 
The vote went overwhelmingly for missions. 

Offering Money Misapplied 

Another thing should be noted. Since he does not 
know clearly the purpose to which the money is to be 
applied and has no real interest in it, it is no won- 
der if the primary or junior child spends at the 
candy store or fruit stand the money which was given 
to him in casual fashion. That numbers of chil- 
dren do so every Sunday morning is known to all ob- 
servant elementary workers. There are various de- 
vices for safeguarding this point — sealed envelopes 
for the offering, monthly reports to the home, etc. 
These are but superficial remedies. Again let it be 
said that if a child is to form the habit of giving as 
an expression of worship he must be familiar with 
that to which he gives. It must be a cause which 
does not benefit himself and yet at the same time 
wins his whole-hearted interest. The whole matter 
of training childhood and youth to worship through 
offering has been too long neglected. Since upon the 
offerings of the Church depends the progress of the 
kingdom, and since offerings made in the right spir- 
it aid much in the formation of Christian character, 

82 



WORSHIP THROUGH OFFERING 

to provide this training is one of the finest tasks 
that confronts the Church to-day. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Define the word "offering." 

2. Is "collection" a synonym? "Why not? 

3. How can the giving of the offering be made truly edu- 
cational in the Beginners' and Primary Departments? In 
the Junior Department? 

4. How can the giving of the offering be made education- 
al in Intermediate, Senior, and Young People's Depart- 
ments? 

5. In schools that are not departmental? 

6. How does the raising of money by means of Church 
socials, bazaars, rummage sales, and the like affect the 
spirit of true giving in the Church and the community? 

7. Is it ever justifiable to raise money for the Church by 
these methods? If not, why not? 

8. What steps can a Church take to train its childhood 
and youth in true giving? 

83 



CHAPTER IX 

WORSHIP THROUGH SERVICE 

A man was riding along the road that led from 
Jerusalem to Damascus. He was young, impetuous, 
and of great ability. He was going on an errand 
of fear and blood. Suddenly there shone about him 
a light brighter than the sun, and a voice sounded in 
his ear. When he knew indeed that it was the Christ 
who spoke to him, Saul of Tarsus cried out: "Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ?" Then, in answer to 
the command laid upon him, Paul the apostle went 
out into a life of service. 

Some Imperfect Conceptions of the Christian life 

During an early period of the Church's history the 
"monkish" idea of the devotional life prevailed. 
Those counted truly devout were they that went 
apart from men and spent the time in trying to de- 
velop personal holiness by constant meditation, fast- 
ing, penances, and prayer. Saving one's own soul 
seemed the only important task, and the needs of 
others were thrust aside. In striking contrast to 
this conception is the idea, held to-day by many peo- 
ple, that to give to the poor, to build hospitals and 
homes for orphans, and the like is to meet all the de- 
mands which God has upon the lives of his children. 
This may be called the "welfare" conception of the 
religious life. On every side are welfare associa- 
tions which plan to meet the physical and sometimes 
the mental and social needs of the poor, but which 

84 



WORSHIP THROUGH SERVICE 

leave out of their plans any provision for the spir- 
itual need. 

A Well-Bounded Christian Life 

In each of these conceptions there is but a half 
truth. It takes both to make a well-rounded Chris- 
tian life. Meditation, prayer, and the other agen- 
cies which keep us in touch with God must be em- 
phasized. Then the life must be poured out in 
hearty service. When Paul said, "What wilt thou 
have me to do ?" and then for love of this Christ, in 
spite of beatings, stonings, shipwreck, and prison, 
obeyed the commands that were given him, he ob- 
served both conditions of the normal Christian life 
and worshiped through service. 

Need for Directing Activities 

There is a modern impulse toward activities of all 
sorts and kinds ; hence the Church should have care- 
fully arranged and systematized plans for directing 
and using in wise ways all of this energy. The 
courses of study used for children and youth in the 
Sunday school should lend themselves to expression 
in service. One of the admirable features of the 
graded courses is the fact that ways are frequently 
suggested for expressing in deeds the truths taught. 
After lessons on kindness, the child is directed to 
the care of pets as a way of expressing such kind- 
ness. After lessons on helpfulness, ways of helping 
mother or father or playmates are suggested. A 
whole year of the senior course is devoted to the 
thought of service as an expression of the devotion- 

85 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

al life and to practical ways of rendering such serv- 
ice. 

Types of Service Listed 

All the various kinds of service which may be ren- 
dered should be listed and classified. This should 
be done in order that the various avenues for serv- 
ice may be brought continually by proper methods 
to the attention of those young people who show 
signs of fitness and who are willing to be trained 
for service. A classification may be made as fol- 
lows: 

Educational, which includes service given by 
preachers, by teachers, missionaries, educational di- 
rectors, etc. 

Executive, which includes service given by gen- 
eral and departmental superintendents, stewards, 
and other school officers, such as secretaries, choris- 
ters, class presidents, officers of young people's so- 
cieties, etc. 

Social service, such as caring for the poor and the 
sick, will also find place in the program of activities. 

A Life Call to Service 
It may be said that if service is to be indeed an 
expression of worship when the call to those phases 
indicated under the heads "Educational" or "Execu- 
tive" is presented to the youth of the Church, stress 
should be laid on a "life call" to these tasks. The 
matter of vocational choice and guidance has place 
here. The call to preach or to go as a missionary 
has long been recognized as a divine call for life 
service, but the call to teach or to serve in the Sun- 
day school or in other clearly defined capacity has 

86 



WORSHIP THROUGH SERVICE 

been ignored. The verse, "And God hath set some 
in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, third- 
ly teachers," gives authority for the "life call" of the 
teacher, while executive service received divine sanc- 
tion when Philip and others were set apart to "serve 
tables" and to administer the business affairs of the 
Church. The life call to service may be further an- 
alyzed in its several phases. The call to preach or 
to go as a missionary calls for the setting aside of 
other claims and for letting no other matter inter- 
fere with the task undertaken. In such service the 
whole time is given and a livelihood provided. 
Where superintendents, directors of religious educa- 
tion, field men, etc., give their whole time and are 
salaried, their call to service and the definiteness of 
their task become also very clear. Unsalaried offi- 
cers and teachers, on the other hand, can give only 
a part of their time to service and must, in addition, 
be concerned about business and the ordinary tasks 
of life. Often in consequence they do not realize the 
force of the "life call" and so miss the highest in- 
centive to effort and to faithfulness. While the di- 
vine call to service as a salaried worker in the vari- 
ous fields is being emphasized, it should be made clear 
to those who must be classed as voluntary workers 
that the work of Sunday school officer or teacher 
may be a life call also. While it may sometimes be 
necessary for them to set aside for a while the tasks 
given them, yet they can hold themselves in readi- 
ness again to assume those tasks when the way 
opens. They can also be always in the attitude of 
fitting themselves to do better work in the allotted 
field when they are again permitted by Providence 

87 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

to labor in it. Nearly all of the problems of organ- 
ization and of leadership would be solved if this 
conception of a life call were emphasized to volun- 
tary workers. 

A group of thirty-five young girls had for ten days 
been studying beginners' and primary methods. At 
the closing session the leader spoke of the "life call" 
to service and made clear the -fact that even a vol- 
untary worker can hear and answer such a call. 
She might be called to teach little children. Then 
that was her life task. Always, when opportunity 
was given, she would teach little children. Always, 
when possible, she would learn ways to teach them 
better. She might be called to teach older children, 
to serve as a leader to other girls, to be a Home De- 
partment worker, etc. Whatever the field, the im- 
portant thing was to accept the work as a life task. 
The response was immediate and definite. One girl 
said : "I have never felt called to the foreign field. I 
did not know there was anything else that / could be 
called to do. I can do this." 

It is plain that when the Church gives to its young 
people a vision of service, as an expression of wor- 
ship and as a definite life task, its chief problem 
will be to provide adequate training for the throng 
that will respond. 

It would seem that the preparation of such a pro- 
gram of activities and training has been too long de- 
layed. It has been said many times that if, after 
the pastor has exhorted his congregation to serve, 
the men and women who hear were to ask to be giv- 
en tasks worthy of their efforts and suited to their 
ability, it would usually be found that nothing defi- 
* 88 



WOKSHIP THROUGH SERVICE 

nite had been planned which they could do. While 
it is true that "he also serves who only stands and 
waits/' he should not have to wait too long. 

Some Phases of Social Service 

It is not intended that the importance of social 
service shall be minimized in this discussion. As 
yet the Church has hardly realized the possibilities 
that lie in this direction. The physical and social 
needs of humanity must be taken into account in 
any adequate Church program, as well as those 
which are spiritual. Secondary and adult classes 
and departments are employing much of their energy 
in this direction. 

One point, however, needs to be guarded. As was 
said above, in modern classes of young people and 
adults emphasis is very wisely being laid on service 
activities. However, too often it happens that the 
attention of the class is fixed on the activity itself 
rather than upon the need which is to be met. An 
organized class containing many young women de- 
cided that it needed some kind of class activity. 
The Old Ladies' Home was selected as the field of 
operation. Armed with baskets and a program, they 
sallied forth. In due time they assembled in the par- 
lor of the Home. This was crowded to its full ca- 
pacity by the visitors, who filled the chairs and 
stood in convenient places. The service of song and 
prayer was about to begin, when the question was 
quietly asked: "Where are the old ladies?" The 
class had been so absorbed in its activity that it had 
never missed them ! The ladies were assembled and 
the service held. Then, in spite of the fact that the 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

hour was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, 
the food provided was spread out and the old ladies 
urged to eat. While this meal was being served an- 
other class, armed also with baskets and a program, 
intent upon a "service activity," descended upon the 
same feeble old ladies! Now, many of the inmates 
of that Home were skilled with the needle, doing 
fine embroidery and chochet. They had stores of 
things which they had made during their long, lone- 
ly hours. It was suggested that the class could se- 
cure a show window downtown, exhibit this needle- 
work, and see that the old ladies had the joy of earn- 
ing money and of a feeling of independence. That 
suggestion was made several years ago, and it has 
not yet been adopted. This instance is typical of a 
number of others where classes and individuals ren- 
der a kind of spurious service by following the line 
of least resistance, without thoughtfully taking into 
account the results to be secured. 

There may be classed with the phase noted above 
the tendency of some classes and individuals to 
schedule and report every item of service rendered 
through a spirit of emulation or desire to outstrip 
another section of the class or of some other class. 
It must always be remembered that if it is to be an 
expression of worship the service must be given for 
the sake of Christ and because there is need for the 
service. "A cup of cold water" must be given not 
only in the name of a disciple, but to satisfy a real 
thirst, before it is acknowledged by Christ. 

Attention is called to the following plans, which 
show clearly the relation between worship and serv- 
ice and which are effective in enlisting workers. 

90 



WORSHIP THROUGH SERVICE 

Forward-Step Plan 

The first is the Forward- Step Plan. This at its 
best is the last session in a conference for senior boys 
or senior girls. The worship service is carefully 
planned and reverently observed. There is an ad- 
dress showing the various fields which the Sunday 
school offers for life service. It is first made clear 
that one not a Christian must accept Christ and 
unite with the Church before enlisting for service. 
Blank cards are given, upon which the names and 
addresses can be written and the forward step indi- 
cated. It is all done prayerfully and in quietness. 
Under proper leadership the results are wonderful. 
Always a group accept Christ; others agree to join 
the Church, then all kinds of services are chosen. 
This method should never be used unless there is a 
good follow-up plan, with opportunities in readiness 
for definite training. 

The White Christmas 

The second plan is that of the White Christmas. 
This includes also the idea of the offering as an ex- 
pression of worship. In a downtown church the al- 
tar and the walls were draped with white. Ferns 
and palms were massed in corners. It was late on 
the Sunday afternoon preceding Christmas. The 
only light came from the large star of electric lights 
which was suspended in front of the congregation. 
A hidden choir sang the old familiar Christmas 
hymns, "Holy Night," "While Shepherds Watched 
Their Flocks," "Joy to the World," etc. There were 
earnest prayer, the telling of the Christmas story, 
and then the white gifts were offered. It had been 

91 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

made very clear that there could be gifts of self, 
gifts of substance, and gifts of service. It had been 
explained that to be a white gift it was to be given 
thoughtfully, prayerfully, and from love to the Christ 
whose birthday was being celebrated. Hundreds of 
gifts were brought. A group of young people gave 
themselves. More than a thousand dollars, with 
clothing, food, etc., were gifts of substance. Young 
people, men and women, offered to serve as mission- 
aries, as teachers, as Home Department and Cradle 
Roll workers, as helpers in the beginners' and pri- 
mary departments, as members of a training class to 
fit themselves for service, as "willing to serve any- 
where needed." Each realized to the fullest degree 
that in this service upon which they were entering 
there was in large measure the element of worship. 
Their talents and their time were dedicated as white 
gifts for the King. About a hundred schools in the 
same city in similar fashion kept the White Christ- 
mas, and the life of the Churches was quickened, 
and a new ideal of service was created. 

After a full consideration of the matter, it would 
seem that, whether the service is rendered in the 
realm of the spiritual needs of life or whether it con- 
cerns itself with clothing the naked and feeding the 
hungry, if it is a true service, a genuine desire to do 
the will of the Father, it will, always be an expres- 
sion of worship. 

The holy supper is kept indeed 

In whatso we share with another's need. 

Who gives himself with his alms feeds three — 
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me. 
92 



WORSHIP THROUGH SERVICE 

"Even the Son of man came not to be ministered 
unto, but to minister." 

"I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and 
ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, 
and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto 
me." 

"Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my breth- 
ren, even these least, ye did it unto me." 

Questions for Discussion 

1. The first impulse of a little child is to express in ac- 
tion that which he has learned. This impulse weakens as 
he grows older. What error in training is responsible? 

2. Give reasons that show why the Church should plan 
to meet not only the religious needs of human life, but the 
physical, mental, and social needs as well. 

3. How does the effectively organized Sunday school class 
meet the Church's need for training young people in service? 

4. Give three important reasons why courses for training 
in administration or executive training should be provided 
by every Sunday school. 

5. How can a "life call" to a field of voluntary service be 
recognized? 

6. Give a possible program of activities for a town or city 
Church. 

7. Give a program of activities for a country or village 
Church. 

8. Give a program of class activities for intermediates; 
for seniors; for young people. 

93 



CHAPTER X 

TRAINING IN WORSHIP IN CHILDHOOD 

First Lessons 

A young mother, who had had training as a kin- 
dergarten teacher, resolved that in teaching her own 
child she would follow the principles learned in her 
study of kindergarten methods. She sought, there- 
fore, to awaken interest and create desire rather 
than impose upon the child her wishes. It was her 
custom at night, when the little one had been placed 
in its crib, to fold her hands and offer a silent 
prayer. The months passed by, and when the child 
had learned to speak freely she asked one night: 
"Mother, why do you fold your hands and close your 
eyes after you have put me to bed ?" "I am praying 
to the Heavenly Father, asking him to take care of 
you, dear," replied the mother. "Can I pray too?" 
said the little girl, folding her hands. "What must 
I say?" "Just what you would like to say, as you 
do when you talk to me," replied the mother, and 
the child offered her first prayer. It was offered be- 
cause of a desire to pray. It was offered reverently, 
because she had unconsciously caught from the at- 
titude of the mother the spirit of worship. 

Prayer the Form of Worship Learned First 

Of all the forms of worship (petition, praise, Bible 
study, testimony, offerings, and service), it is prayer 
that is first learned by the little child. And speak- 
ing to the Heavenly Father, like speaking to friends, 

94 



TRAINING IN WORSHIP IN CHILDHOOD 

can best be learned through imitation. Therefore 
in the home and in the Sunday school, when the 
child is old enough to attend, short prayers in lan- 
guage easily understood should be offered. And just 
as children hear words many times before they are 
asked to speak them, so it should be with prayer. 
Later, in beginners' and primary department wor- 
ship, superintendents often ask the children to re- 
peat the sentences of the prayer after them. Care 
should always be exercised, however, that the prayer 
be made the children's own through suggestions and 
questions about what we should ask of the Heaven- 
ly Father and for what we should thank him. When 
teachers or superintendents fail to awaken the inter- 
est of the children in the petitions, the words are 
merely thoughtlessly repeated after the leader. 

Later children may be asked if they would like to 
offer prayer for something that has been suggested — 
for example, asking God to bless a classmate who is 
ill or a teacher who is in sorrow, or giving thanks 
for some good thing that has come to a member of 
the class or to the whole school. These will, of 
course, be sentence prayers ; and the teacher should 
be sure that conditions are such that no feeling of 
embarrassment will come to the child who offers the 
prayer. Short prayers should be taught the chil- 
dren, with the suggestion that these may be used 
for evening or morning worship when they desire, in- 
stead of a prayer of their own. Also printed prayers 
may be used with children old enough to read well. 
Long ago a group of learners asked their teacher to 
teach them to pray; and he gave them a prayer 
which they memorized, probably writing it down 

95 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

first. Thus in giving children prayers which they 
may repeat, teachers are bnt following the example 
of Jesus and of John the Baptist. 

Training in Worship through Music 

No other part of the service of worship for little 
children aids so much in creating an appropriate at- 
mosphere as does the quiet music; and when the 
time given to it is not so long that little children 
naturally become restless, it can be used Sunday aft- 
er Sunday with most satisfactory results. The songs 
selected for children should be those which appro- 
priately express their religious emotions. These 
should, of course, be within the range of their voices. 
To strain or injure a child's voice by giving it tasks 
which are too difficult should be considered as truly a 
crime as to injure other parts of its body. Good col- 
lections of suitable songs are available, such as 
"Songs for Little People," "Songs of the Child 
World," and "Carols." 

In addition to the music in which children can 
participate, however, they should be given an oppor- 
tunity to hear the great hymns and the deep, soul- 
stirring tones of the church organ. The value of 
good music for culture and life can hardly be over- 
estimated, but as yet very few Churches have at- 
tempted to use the means already at their disposal 
in training the children in reverence and adoration. 

The TJse of Scripture 

The Bible was not written primarily for children ; 
but there are many passages which can with profit 
be read to them, and many of the Psalms can be 

96 



TEAINING IN WORSHIP IN CHILDHOOD 

memorized and used in the service of worship, such 
as Psalms c, cxxi., xxiii., xxiv., and i. Children re- 
ceive their impressions of the teachings of the Bi- 
ble primarily from the Bible stories. Give them the 
best thoughts and hopes of the men and women and 
children of the Bible, their deeds and their motives. 
Here great ideas and strong purposes wield their in- 
fluence, because they are revealed, not as abstract vir- 
tues, but as the thoughts and purposes of men who 
have lived and worked in the same world in which 
the child lives. They are "clothed in a living human 
soul." The boy may have a personal acquaintance 
with patriarchs and sages and, as far as he is able, 
may share with them their vision. Let it be the pur- 
pose of teachers and parents to make the Bible char- 
acters better known to the children than are the char- 
acters of any other book. If taught in the right way, 
children will not fail to measure their own lives by 
the highest standards of these heroes. 

Offerings 

Offerings, to be a part of worship, must be made 
in the spirit of worship, just as they are in the 
Church service. The youngest children should know 
for what general purpose the money they give is 
to be used, and even the beginners' class should 
give at least a part of its money to some specific ob- 
ject. In one school the youngest children gave to- 
ward the milk fund of a day nursery in which many 
of their mothers were interested. Later, when oth- 
er classes in the school were giving toward the sup- 
port of a pupil in a school in China, the first-grade 
children wished to send some of their money for this 
7 97 



THE TKAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

purpose also. They were as happy as any of the 
older children when a letter came from the Chinese 
boy whom they were helping, thanking them for mak- 
ing it possible for him to attend school, and were 
ready to suggest to their teacher what she should 
say to the boy in replying to his letter. 

Children may be taught that just as God needs 
the work of men and women and boys and girls in 
making the world better, so he needs a part of our 
money to take care of people who cannot take care 
of themselves, to send teachers to children who have 
no one to teach them, and to build churches and 
schools and hospitals. God expects us to be work- 
ers together with him. 

Service 

A well-organized school will have a program of 
service suggesting ways in which children may be 
helpful : 

1. In the home, by acts of though tfulness and cour- 
teous behavior toward father and mother, brothers 
and sisters and guests. 

2. In the school, by being thoughtful of teachers 
and schoolmates and preparing lessons carefully < 

3. In the Sunday school, by being attentive to the 
words of superintendent or teacher, by doing hand- 
work neatly, and by participation in all parts of the 
service. 

A boy of five was rather skillful in the use of 
his hands when he first went to kindergarten, so 
he was placed in a group of older children. After 
a few weeks he came home one day and said to his 
mother: "I went back into the first class to-day. 



TRAINING IN WORSHIP IN CHILDHOOD 

The teacher wanted somebody to show the babies 
how to sit still and do their work, and she chose 
me." The child was happy and thankful because of 
an opportunity to serve. This instinctive desire can 
be strengthened and intelligently directed so that 
habits of service will be formed. 

In some cities leaders of older children have or- 
ganized Know-Your-City Clubs, in which the work 
of the associated charities and other philanthropic 
enterprises, both those supported by the city and 
those of the Church, have been studied. Some of 
these institutions have been visited by groups of 
children; and when a need has been learned or an 
opportunity seen whereby a work of helpfulness can 
be furthered, the children have been glad to give 
their aid. The boys and girls of this generation 
must, however, be trained for world citizenship ; and 
leaders must recognize the fact that even with chil- 
dren service and offerings cannot be restricted to the 
needs near at hand, but that interest and sympathy 
must be given in equal measure to those who need 
Christian teachers, ministers, and physicians among 
the peoples of distant lands. A program which fails 
to include provision for training in world friendship 
and world service will fail to give the necessary 
equipment for Christian living and for the building 
of the kingdom. 

Testimony 

This subject is treated last because children will 
not, of course, be expected to "testify" in a public 
service except through their attitude and conduct, 
their participation in the singing, the prayers, and 

99 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

the use of Scripture passages. On occasions such 
as Decision Day, which is better termed Acknowl- 
edgment Day, older children may be present and 
should be given the opportunity of uniting with oth- 
ers in acknowledging their allegiance to Christ and 
their decision to follow him. There is, however, a 
way in which children in their associations with 
their playmates may be encouraged to bear testi- 
mony, and that is by speaking out frankly for the 
right and by reproving wrong. 

In one of the European countries in which reli- 
gious instruction is given in the public schools a 
teacher was one day teaching a lesson on repent- 
ance. He emphasized the fact that men are held re- 
sponsible not only for sins committed, but for fail- 
ure to reprove sin, and explained to the children in 
simple language that if they stood silently by and 
saw others doing wrong things and made no pro- 
test, they themselves shared in the guilt. Not long 
afterwards a group of boys were coming from school 
when one of the number caught a little bird and 
killed it. Prompted, no doubt, by the lesson in the 
schoolroom, the other boys with one accord spoke 
their condemnation of the act. "God made the birds, 
and you kill them," said one of the boys sternly ; and 
they walked away, leaving the offender, who had 
hung his head in shame. 

The Object of Training in the Devotional Life 

All training in the devotional life should have as 
its ultimate objective the development of balanced, 
well-rounded Christian character. It is the privi- 
lege of teachers to aid and direct boys and girls in 

100 



TRAINING IN WORSHIP IN CHILDHOOD 

the forming of such characters; to teach them, as 
they grow in years and in knowledge, to use their 
thought and their energies in constructive effort to 
strengthen the cause of righteousness ; to have noble 
ideals and earnest convictions and beliefs, which 
they are willing to teach to others and, if need be, 
to defend. Such a Christian is truly an effective 
witness. Of such witnesses Professor Bosworth 
spoke when he said that the Christian conquest of 
the world is to be won by a campaign of testimony. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. If you were teaching a little child to utter his first 
prayer, how would you do it? 

2. How would you teach a child of eight? 

3. How can you guard children against merely "saying" 
their prayers instead of praying? 

4. Should children under eight years of age he asked to 
sing the hymns used by adults? 

5. What Bible stories do the children whom you know 
like best? 

6. What age should children attain before they are taught 
about the sufferings of Jesus? 

7. Is it necessary that you refer to these in teaching the 
Easter lesson or telling the story of Jesus going to the 
heavenly home? 

8. Have you a program of service for the children of your 
school? 

101 



CHAPTER XI 

TRAINING IN WORSHIP IN LATER CHILD- 
HOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 

Two boys had been preparing an algebra lesson 
together. It had grown late, and, their work being 
completed, one rose to return home. As he put on 
his cap he said: "Harold, do you say your prayers 
at night ?" "Of course," answered the second boy. 
"Well, what do you say?" asked the first, and then, 
without waiting for an answer, he continued: "I 
used to say, 'Now I lay me down to sleep'; then I 
thought I grew too big for that, and so for a few 
years I have said 'Our Father.' But sometimes I 
get tired of that, just the same thing every night, 
and feel like cutting the whole thing out. I have 
spoken to several boys before I asked you, and they 
have all stopped saying their prayers." 

From an adjoining room I had heard the conver- 
sation and ventured to ask the questioner if he had 
ever attempted to compose a prayer of his own. He 
confessed that he had not, aside from the short, spon- 
taneous petitions which, as he said, "everybody 
prays when he is in trouble or is afraid something 
is going wrong." I questioned further and discov- 
ered that the boy regarded these as insufficient. He 
felt the need of devotional prayer ; but the one prayer 
that he knew he had repeated so often, without any 
variation and without having his attention called to 
its real meaning and beauty, that, in a sense, it had 
become stale. He felt no thrill of emotion when of- 
fering it, but "said" it at night only from a sense of 

102 



LATER CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 

duty, so that as a prayer it was of practically no 
value to him. 

Present Classes without Training in Worship 

The boy's frank statement about not knowing 
"what to say" illustrates lack of training in the ear- 
lier grades. Without doubt, however, a like confes- 
sion might be made by many boys and girls. Where 
thoughtful training in the devotional life has been 
given to the children, both in the home and in the 
Church school, the problem for teachers of older 
children and adolescents is very different from the 
one which faces them when they have charge of a 
group that has not had such training. If teachers 
and superintendents of little children begin now to 
take this part of their task more seriously and plan 
as definitely for the service of worship and the par- 
ticipation of the children in this service as for teach- 
ing the lesson, another decade will bring to the more 
advanced departments of the school classes of young 
people whose training in the devotional life will com- 
pare favorably with their knowledge of the Bible and 
of Christian living. But with most of our present 
classes there is need for some elementary instruc- 
tion and for much encouragement in the expression 
of their religious thoughts and feelings, bearing in 
mind, however, the characteristics of older boys and 
girls and of adolescents and the different approach 
that must be made. All the forms of worship sug- 
gested in the preceding chapter will be used with the 
older group, but there will need to be additional 
thought given to the way in which these are con- 
ducted. 

103 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Utilizing the Group Instinct 

The greatest thing in the life of the average Amer- 
ican boy to-day is athletics — that is, organized play. 
It is group activity; but it is controlled, it is sur- 
rounded with a certain amount of ceremony, and it 
requires a good deal of paraphernalia. Do not these 
facts illustrate certain instincts of which we may 
make use in training the religious life? Worship is 
not merely a personal matter; it is social. And 
teamwork in the religious life, in prayer, praise, Bi- 
ble study, offerings, and service is just as important 
as it is in athletics. "All the members of the body, 
being many, are one body." A service of worship for 
adolescents should inspire each one to join in the 
singing. It should provide for prayer together, not 
simply the Lord's Prayer, but prayers which the 
members have themselves composed, as they will do 
in a class session if the teacher will reverently and 
tactfully lead her pupils to express their prayer 
thoughts in writing. It should provide for the use 
of memorized Psalms ; and these, repeated in unison, 
are usually enjoyed more than when read responsive- 
ly. Its offerings and program of service should be 
an expression of the intelligent interest of the group 
in the extension and philanthropic work of the 
Church. 

Offerings and Service 

This should all be planned with the idea of "to- 
getherness," or it will fail of its purpose. A teacher 
wishing to aid in a needy situation and to deepen 
the interest of her class in missions told them of a 
town in India where a native Christian teacher was 

104 



LATER CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 

greatly desired and of a teacher who would go if his 
support could be provided. One girl who had re- 
ceived a present of some money generously volun- 
teered to give the needed sum. Throughout the year 
reports came from the work, but no one except the 
one girl seemed greatly interested. The next year, 
however, she was able to give only a much smaller 
sum, and the other members of the class, each giving 
a small amount, made up the deficiency. When the 
next report came, there was no lack of interest on 
the part of the class. They were anxious to do more. 
Books, post cards, and decorations for a Christmas 
tree were sent out, while each member spoke with 
pride and enthusiasm of "our" school. 

The sympathies of young people can be easily 
aroused. They readily espouse great causes. They 
are generous-hearted and glad to give of money, if 
they have it, as well as of service. It is a good plan 
in some classes to discuss the subject of "allow- 
ances" and "earnings" and to show pupils the joyous 
opportunity one has to aid noble causes through 
tithing, or setting aside the tenth of one's money for 
this purpose. A feeling of responsibility should also 
be created, for it is to the young people of to-day 
that we must soon look for the larger gifts to meet 
enlarged opportunities, to make possible the sending 
forth of more messengers of the gospel, the building 
of more Christian schools and hospitals, and the fur- 
thering of the work of the kingdom in general. 

The Value of Ceremony 

The fact that adolescents are fond of ceremony 
should not be overlooked. A service which is digni- 

105 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

fied, awe-inspiring, and beautiful commands their re- 
spect and is enjoyed by them. Not infrequently the 
value of a service is lost because the pastor or a 
visitor is asked to address the school and feels that 
he must amuse the boys and girls by telling funny 
stories. These people forget that there are about one 
hundred hours each week for general instruction, 
recreation, and amusement, and for many pupils 
probably less than one hour for social worship. 

Social and Private Worship 

If boys and girls have grown to the age of twelve 
or thirteen without instruction in worship, it is not 
likely that the home can then supply the need. One 
must look to the teacher and the Church school for 
such training. And the problem can be best ap- 
proached through the group, because the environ- 
ment can be controlled. Reverence, gratitude, love, 
loyalty, and a sense of the nearness of God can be 
most effectively developed through the pervasive in- 
fluence of public worship, and the reactions of indi- 
vidual pupils are immensely strengthened through 
group influence. After a period of training in group 
worship, however, private or individual worship 
should be brought to the attention of the pupils. In 
athletics the work of the team must be supplemented 
by private practice. Pupils of this age are fond of 
companionship; but they are also fond of solitude, 
and one must provide food for the thoughts and med- 
itations of the quiet hours. This will naturally con- 
sist of Bible study and prayer. 

106 



LATER CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 

The Devotional Use of the Bible 

Suggestions for devotional Bible reading and 
study have been given in Chapter V. Pupils will 
need direction if they are to receive the most benefit 
from such reading, and it will be well to link up the 
themes for private devotions with those already 
studied or discussed in class session. Teachers 
should call the attention of pupils to chapters or 
books of the Bible which treat topics that are now 
prominently before the people. The reports of the 
persecution of Christians at the present time may 
give one a special interest in the experiences of Paul, 
or the passages written to comfort and encourage 
persecuted Christians. The work of the Red Cross 
Society will give added interest to the story of the 
good Samaritan and to the accounts of the healing 
ministry of Jesus. 

In an address to a group of students Mark Guy 
Pearse once said that for daily devotion one should 
never attempt to read more than five or six verses. 
He should then devote some time to thinking about 
the passage read, picturing to his mind the scene 
and the conditions which called forth the utterance. 
He illustrated his meaning by reading six verses 
from the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. Then 
he sketched the picture — the dusty highway, the hot 
sun, and the weary, thirsty traveler waiting at the 
well. Said the speaker: "You will say to yourself, 
'My Master, how gladly would I have given you a 
drink!' Then the Spirit will bring to your remem- 
brance^ — it surely will — that a cup of cold water giv- 
en to a disciple is also given to the Lord ; and as you 
go about your daily work you will not forget through 

107 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

deeds of thoughtfulness for others to give the Mas- 
ter to drink." 

The Prayer Book 

As an aid in suggesting prayer thoughts and also 
in familiarizing pupils with the language of prayer, 
written prayers that have come down to us from 
the earlier centuries of the Christian Church or from 
some one of the books of prayers more recently 
prepared may be found most helpful. If used right- 
ly, these prayers will stimulate and deepen the re- 
ligious life of the worshiper, whether he be young 
or old. Hartley, a boy of ten, had been given a 
neatly bound prayer book, which he seemed to prize, 
but of which he seldom spoke. One day his sister 
was ill, and the mother had asked the children to 
keep very quiet, a request which proved to be dif- 
ficult for a lively boy to heed. Finally the mother 
said in severe tones: "Hartley, your sister is sick, 
and by your noise you are making her worse. Can't 
you understand ?" Evidently he did understand, for 
he went to his own room, where he remained so still 
that his mother, fearing some new form of mischief 
was brewing, went up to investigate. As she opened 
the door she saw Hartley with his prayer book. He 
was reading "A Prayer for the Sick and Afflicted." 

The Prayers of Others but a Means of Teaching 
How to Pray 

The prayers of others should, however, serve as a 
means to the desired end, not as an end in them- 
selves. It would, of course, be better to continue to 
use written prayers throughout one's life than not to 
pray at all, but one who uses such prayers exclusive- 

108 



LATER CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 

ly falls far short of his privilege. It would be sad 
indeed to have a child dependent always upon an old- 
er brother or sister to accompany him into his fa- 
ther's presence to make his wants known for him or 
to express his love for his father when each child 
has free access to that father. Bishop Brent says : 
"There are those who toil through the whole of their 
life of prayer, leaning upon the prayers of others. 
They maintain they cannot compose prayers of their 
own. This is not so. Any one of average intelli- 
gence, if he chooses to take time and pains, has am- 
ple capacity for this purpose. Let him use his pen 
and write down his aspirations for himself and oth- 
ers as concisely as he can, and he will be surprised to 
find, not only how much he has to say to God, but 
how easy it is to express what is in his heart." 

Value of Composing One's Own Prayer 

Writing or thoughtfully composing one's own 
prayer is an aid to speech. We know that God al- 
ways hears the earnest appeal, that his ear is ever 
open to our cry ; but a prayer should be more satis- 
factory to the one who offers it when it is framed in 
good language. Jesus said that men should serve 
God with the mind as well as with the heart and 
soul, and we believe that God is glorified when we 
offer him the best expression of our thought. 

Some Results of Training in Worship 

In the public service we should feel that much has 
been accomplished if, in addition to thoughtful at- 
tention and reverent manner, the pupils join heart- 
ily in the singing of the hymns, in reading or recit- 

109 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

ing the Psalms, and in the school or the class prayers. 
When, however, the services have been so conducted 
for a few years that the pnpils have been led to see 
that worship is only a natural expression of our love 
to God and of our highest aspirations for ourselves 
and for others, and if they have been led to love 
these services and really to enjoy them, the sympa- 
thetic, watchful teachers of the adolescent classes 
will become aware of a time when those pupils are 
ready to participate in the service of worship by 
taking upon themselves the responsibilities of leader- 
ship. In a school in which it had been customary to 
have a common service for the whole school except 
the kindergarten, but where much time and thought 
had been given to the purpose of the service and the 
results to be accomplished through it, the interme- 
diate group sent in a request for a separate service 
for themselves in which they might have the oppor- 
tunity of serving as leaders. We believe, however, 
that this desire would not have existed to the extent 
to which it did exist but for the careful and thor- 
ough training of their earlier years. 

Boys and Girls Should Not Be Urged to Express Their 
Religious Emotions 

As has been mentioned in Chapter VII. regarding 
public testimony, a superintendent or teacher should 
be exceedingly careful about asking boys and girls, 
or even members of the intermediate group, to lead 
in a public, extempore prayer. Boys especially are 
not free to speak of their religious feelings and aspi- 
rations; and, as Dr. Peabody, of Groton School, ex- 
presses it, "When you do get a boy who is fluent in 

110 



LATER CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 

his description of his religious emotions, the danger 
is that the emotion won't hitch on to conduct. The 
danger is that his expression may run far beyond his 
experience, and after a year or two there comes a 
reaction. He looks back upon it and finds himself 
utterly ashamed of what he said, and he hasn't much 
sympathy with the religion which prompted him to 
say it." 

The Law of Development 

The training of adolescents requires tact and skill 
and knowledge. Besides the desire to help them and 
do for them, it requires the wisdom and the ability 
to refrain from doing. They are passing through a 
period in which they are discovering their new pow- 
ers and adjusting themselves to a larger world than 
that of childhood. To gain proper control of them- 
selves and their environment, they must be allowed 
to exercise their powers of thought and will and ac- 
tion. Blessed is the teacher who can, without hin- 
dering, wisely direct this exercise. No other object 
of God's creation is so precious in his sight as is the 
unfolding life of one of these little ones which be- 
lieve on him, and no careless hand should force or 
attempt to hasten that unfolding, lest it mar the per- 
fect blossom. The Creator has made his own laws for 
human life as well as for bud and chrysalis. It is 
the privilege of parents and teachers to supply the 
materials for growth and to create the environment ; 
it is theirs to plant and to water the seed. And 
when this is rightly done, they may trust God to 
give the increase. 

Ill 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Questions for Discussion 

1. How would you instruct an adolescent boy in worship? 

2. Of what advantage is it to begin such instruction with 
a group in the Church school? 

3. What are the advantages in interesting a group rather 
than the individuals separately in some form of service? 

4. Should boys and girls in their teens have their own 
money and be taught how to use it? 

5. Discuss the advantages of tithing. 

6. Is group worship sufficient for Christian growth and 
development? 

7. What is the value of connecting the Bible study with 
present-day problems? 

8. Discuss the value of printed prayers. 

9. Pupils of what age require most tact on the part of the 
teacher? Why is this so? 

112 



CHAPTEE XII 

THE PEOGEAM OF WOESHIP IN THE 
SUNDAY SCHOOL 

The preceding chapters have given an analysis of 
worship and of the various means through which it 
finds expression. From a study of this analysis we 
see clearly that while a child can worship alone or in 
the congregation, yet the home and the Sunday 
school are the two agencies which must provide him 
with training in worship. It is also evident that if 
the Sunday school wishes to measure up to its re- 
sponsibility at this point, it will need to have a com- 
prehensive and definite program by means of which 
this necessary training may be provided for its child- 
hood and youth. The principles upon which this pro- 
gram should be based are presented for consideration 
in this chapter. 

Graded Worship Is Demanded by an Adequate Program 

It is recognized in modern thinking that the child 
develops in certain progressive stages or periods, 
each of which is marked by distinctive characteris- 
tics. An adequate program of worship for the school 
will provide for graded worship suited to the needs 
of each of these grades or periods. The same princi- 
ples hold good here which are utilized in the Graded 
Lesson Courses. It is as important that the princi- 
ple of gradual development be recognized as apply- 
ing to the entire religious life, including the emo- 
tions as well as the intellect, and that methods of 
8 113 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

training in prayer, in praise, in giving, and in serv- 
ice be carefully adapted to the varying needs of suc- 
cessive periods of growth, as it is to provide courses 
of graded instruction. 

When the courses of Graded Lessons for begin- 
ners or children of four and five were arranged, a 
careful study was made of beginners, of their charac- 
teristics and of their limitations, as determined by 
their stage of development, by their knowledge, and 
by their experience. Then in the light of this study 
selection was made of such Bible and nature lesson 
material as was best suited to meet the needs of 
these children. Similar studies were made of prima- 
ries, of juniors, of intermediates, and of seniors, and 
in each case the lesson material was adapted to the 
needs of the particular period. In precisely the same 
way a study is made of beginners, of their possibil- 
ities and of their limitations. Then songs are select- 
ed that in thought and words are suited to little 
children. Prayers and giving services which they 
can understand are provided, and all are arranged 
into a worship service. Services adapted to the oth- 
er periods of development are arranged in the same 
fashion. It is very evident that this adaptation to 
the varying capacities and needs of beginners, pri- 
maries, juniors, and the rest is essential and that 
there can be no real training in worship without it. 
This graded worship must be provided by the Sun- 
day school. There is a home here and there where 
individual children are being properly trained in 
worship, but such homes are rare. Then, too, indi- 
vidual worship differs from worship with a group. 
In the Sunday school the child can sing and pray 

114 



PROGRAM OF WORSHIP IN THE SCHOOL 

with children who are in the same period of growth 
with himself and who in consequence have the same 
needs and the same modes of expression. 

Graded Worship Demands Separation of Groups 

Graded instruction may be given under any condi- 
tion in which uniform lessons can be used, but grad- 
ed worship demands a separation of the worshiping 
groups. Hence an adequate program of worship for 
the school will provide departmental church archi- 
tecture, by means of which the Beginner, Primary, 
Junior, Intermediate, Senior, Young People, and 
Adult Departments will be provided for their wor- 
ship with rooms separated by solid walls or hall- 
ways. It is not always possible to make complete 
provision for departmental separation. In that 
case provision should be made beginning with the 
youngest group. In this connection it may be noted 
that the junior period is characterized by the fixing 
of habit. Since the habits fixed at this stage of de- 
velopment tend to become instinctive, it is of great 
importance that adequate provision be made for a 
separate Junior Department in addition to those 
provided for the beginners' and primary groups, 
where the junior children can form and fix habits of 
intelligent worship. If the work be thoroughly done 
at this time, the habit of worship will become a per- 
manent part of their life and character. 

Trained Leaders for Graded Worship 

Since a degree of skill is required to conduct intel- 
ligently and effectively the worship of a department, 
an adequate program of worship for the school will 

115 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

provide training for leaders or departmental super- 
intendents in order that they may know the underly- 
ing principles of worship and be able to adapt these 
principles so as to meet in the best possible way the 
needs of the particular group or department. Much 
emphasis is being laid on teacher-training, and it is 
time that emphasis be laid on the training of devo- 
tional leaders also. 

Supervision of Departmental Worship Services 

An adequate program of worship for the school 
will take the supervision of the departmental pro- 
grams for the Sunday school session and will see that 
they meet the requirements of a true service of wor- 
ship. These programs will be tested to see whether or 
not the songs and prayers, the method of taking the 
offering, etc., are of the proper type and if they are 
adapted to the needs of the particular departments in 
which they are used. That there is need for such su- 
pervision is evident. The development of the devo- 
tional life of childhood and youth in the Sunday 
school is too important to be left to haphazard meth- 
ods. 

Outline Programs for Departmental Worship 

The programs which are here presented are ar- 
ranged especially with reference to departmental 
schools. This has been done because in such schools 
only can adequate training in worship be given. It 
is suggested, however, that all departments should 
assemble for united worship in the auditorium of 
the church for the closing fifteen minutes of one 
Sunday school session in each month. Programs for 

116 



PROGRAM OF WORSHIP IN THE SCHOOL 

a service of worship and a Christmas service for use 
in the nondepartmental school have been included. 
Complete outlines of programs are given for the ele- 
mentary departments. While worship enters as an 
element into nearly every part of an elementary pro- 
gram, yet it is suggested that there be a special pe- 
riod of worship immediately before the primary and 
junior story or lesson period. 

Program for Beginners' Department 

(Children 4 and 5) 

1. Soft music. 

2. Greetings. (Beginners' superintendent greeting chil- 
dren and teachers. Children greeting superintendent, teach- 
ers, visitors, etc.) 

3. Prayer-song. 

4. Prayer. (This should be preceded by a free conver- 
sation between leader and children about the things to be 
included in prayer. The words used in all prayer should 
be very simple and should be repeated after or with the 
teacher.) 

5. Birthday and Cradle Roll service (with appropriate 
song and prayer). 

6. Offering service. Offering song and prayer. 

7. Circle talk. (Often in this the children will pray 
briefly, as the talking suggests special things for which 
the children wish to thank the Heavenly Father.) 

8. Rest exercise. 

9. Lesson story. 

10. Close. x 

Program for Primary Department 

(Children 6, 7, and 8) 

1. Soft music. 

2. Greetings. 

3. Brief sentence prayer, children repeating words after 
teacher. 

4. Period for memory text drill and for the retelling of 

117 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

stories. (Teachers and pupils around tables or in class 
groups, teachers leading drill.) 

5. Children change position, facing superintendent. 

6. Fellowship period (birthdays, new pupils, visitors). 

7. Brief "new song" period (for learning new songs). 

8. Song appropriate to season. 

9. Worship period. 

(a) Quiet music, brief. 

(&) Scripture, appropriate memory texts of the three 
grades arranged into responsive service. 

(c) Song of praise. 

(d) Offering. Offering song and prayer. (The offering 
should have been taken by the secretary at the door as the 
children entered. It is placed in two baskets. When the 
proper time comes, two children selected by the superin- 
tendent go to the secretary's table and take the baskets. 
They walk side by side down the aisle and stand in front 
of the superintendent. The children give the memory verses 
on giving, learned in their respective grades. The purpose 
to which the offering will be applied is briefly discussed. 
The offering prayer may be a sentence prayer, the children 
repeating it after the teacher.) 

10. Classes assemble around tables or in groups. 

11. Story period. 

12. Children face superintendent. 

13. Song (devotional). 

14. Brief prayer. 

15. A moment of absolute quiet. 

16. Recessional. (Children retire quietly.) 

Program for Junior Department 

(Children 9, 10, and 11) 

1. Prelude. 

2. Opening hymn. 

3. Brief prayer, led by superintendent. 

4. Announcements. 

5. Correlated lesson period. (Pupils gathered around ta- 
bles or in classrooms. Drill on correlated memory work.) 

118 



PEOGKAM OF WORSHIP IN THE SCHOOL 

6. Pupils change position, facing superintendent or gath- 
er quietly in assembly space. 

7. Fellowship period (birthdays, birthday greeting and 
prayer, names of new pupils announced). 

8. Bible drill or memory drill by superintendent. 

9. Worship period. 

(a) Hymn or song of praise. 

(&) Scripture read or repeated responsively. 

(c) Prayer. (All bow heads as pianist plays softly to 
prepare for a silent prayer. The superintendent suggests 
the subjects and closes with a brief spoken prayer.) 

(d) Hymn. 

(e) Responsive verses on giving. Offering and offering 
prayer. (Offering should be brought forward by two pupils. 
The verses used are selected from required memory 
work. Offering prayer should be made by superintend- 
ent or one of the teachers.) 

10. Teachers and pupils go to classrooms or change posi- 
tion at tables. 

11. Lesson study. 

12. Close. 

Program of Worship Service for Intermediate 
Department 

(Pupils 12, 13, and 14) 
A theme should be chosen, and the hymns, scriptures, and 
prayers should relate to this theme. Some which are ap- 
propriate are: "Praise," "Obedience," "Love and Loyalty," 
"Courage," "Faithfulness," etc. Each class should have a 
class hymn and should be occasionally asked to sing it as 
part of the service. 

Opening. 

1. Prelude. 

2. Hymn. 

3. A chain of sentence prayers by the teachers. 

4. Hymn. 

5. Appropriate scripture read by a class, by a good reader, 
or in concert by the department. 

6. A class hymn. 

119 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

Closing 

7. Offering. (Offering brought forward by class treas- 
urers. Consecration prayer.) 

8. Devotional hymn. 

9. Mizpah benediction or brief prayer. 

10. Recessional. 

Program of Worship for Senior Department 

(Pupils 15, 16, and 17) 

As has been said, the chief reason for holding separate 
departmental sessions is that the pupils may be trained to 
worship. In addition, another important reason for a sepa- 
rate senior department session is that the boys and girls 
may have opportunities for developing initiative and lead- 
ership. 

Hence the senior service of worship should be conducted 
by the boy superintendent. This officer is elected by the 
department from among the older boys and has for coun- 
selor a man appointed by the Church authorities. The chor- 
ister and the musician as well as the other officers are boys 
or girls. 

Programs for each month should be arranged by the 
young officers and the adult counselor. The boys and girls 
should be guided in their choice of hymns, and a topical 
list of program material should be given them. From this 
material they can arrange programs. Some excellent pro- 
grams have been arranged in this fashion by seniors. 

As was suggested for the Intermediate Department, a 
theme for the service of worship should be chosen and 
should be embodied in all feaures of the service. 

Pbogbam 

1. Prelude. 

2. Hymns. 

3. Prayer. (A chain of prayer, or three brief prayers, etc. 
Older boys and girls can offer prayer as well as the teach- 
ers.) 

4. "Gloria." 

120 



PROGRAM OF WORSHIP IN THE SCHOOL 

5. Scripture. (Brief passages relating to theme already 
assigned, read by boys and girls, or a fine passage read by 
good reader, etc.) 

6. Hymn. 

7. Special feature. (May be solo, quartet, brief story or 
poem relating to theme, etc.) 

8. Offering. 

9. Hymn (devotional). 

10. Prayer. 

Program of Worship for Young People's Department 

(Pupils 18 to 23) 

A program similar to the one suggested for seniors will 
be appropriate for use in this department. However, since 
the pupils are more mature and have their initiative and 
qualities of leadership more highly developed, they do a 
larger proportion of the planning unaided. Large place is 
given for original suggestions from the young people, and 
adult supervision consists chiefly in seeing that the pro- 
grams do not fall below a proper standard. The young 
officers of the department form the program committee, and 
programs for a month should be planned in advance. Some 
persons may think that the program for worship in this 
and the preceding department will be crude if they be 
arranged by the pupils themselves. In one sense this may 
be true, but the training that the young people receive by 
the process and the heartiness with which they take part 
in the service more than compensate for any crudeness 
which may appear. The worship of the whole con- 
gregation may illustrate a high type of service and not 
only can be kept before them as an ideal expression of 
lofty and dignified worship, but will prove to be of great 
spiritual benefit. 

Program for a Common Service of Worship 

1. Hymn. 

2. Psalm recited in unison. 

3. Choir sentence: "The Lord is in his holy temple. 
Let all the earth keep silence before him." 

121 



THE TRAINING OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE 

4. Prayer for all the school in unison. 

5. Hymn. 

6. Scripture-reading, with comments, or story. 

7. Prayer, closing with the Lord's Prayer. 

8. Hymn. 

9. Benediction. 

Christmas Program 

1. Processional: "It Came upon the Midnight Clear" (No. 
63), or "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" (No. 184), by 
the school. 

2. Psalm c, by the school in unison. 

3. Scripture lesson (Isaiah ix. 1-7) by the superintendent. 

4. School prayer: "Our Father in heaven, we thank thee 
that thou didst send Jesus to this world. To-night as we 
celebrate his birthday we pray that our lives may become 
strong and true and good like his life, and that all the 
world may come to the knowledge of the truth and learn 
to love and obey him. Amen." 

5. Hymn No. 58, "Silent Night," by the school. 

6. Story of the birth of Jesus, by five girls : 

First Girl. The birth of Jesus was on this wise: It came 
to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar 
Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. And all 
went to enroll themselves, every one to his own city. And 
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Naza- 
reth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called 
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of Da- 
vid; to enroll himself with Mary, his wife, who was be- 
trothed to him, being great with child. And it came to 
pass while they were there, the days were fulfilled that 
she should be delivered, and she brought forth her first- 
born son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and 
laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them 
in the inn. (From Matthew and Luke.) 

Second Girl. Luke ii. 8-14. 

Third Girl. Luke ii. 15-20. 

Fourth Girl. Matthew ii. 1-6. 

Fifth Girl. Matthew ii. 7-11. 

122 



PROGRAM OF WORSHIP IN THE SCHOOL 

7. Luther's Cradle Hymn, No. 70, by the Beginners' and 
Primary Departments. 

8. Organ voluntary, "Hallelujah Chorus" or "March of the 
Magi Kings." 

9. Hymn No. 60, "Joy to the World," by the school. 

10. Trio, "We Three Kings of Orient Are" (No. 75), by 
three young men, school or choir joining in the chorus. 

11. A story or a five-minute address on "The Meaning of 
Christmas" by the pastor, the superintendent, or a teacher. 

12. Girls' chorus, "The First Noel" (No. 66). 

13. Prayer and benediction by superintendent or pastor. 

14. Recessional, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (No. 6S), 
by the school. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. What is the work of a director of religious educa- 
tion? 

2. What part can such a director play in securing ade- 
quate training in worship for the childhood and youth of 
the Church? 

3. Give the reasons why graded or departmental wor- 
ship is of prime importance. 

4. Who is the logical person to arrange and conduct 
the service of worship of a department? 

5. What are the three elements which should enter 
into the training of a departmental superintendent? 

6. What steps can a school take to supervise and 
standardize the worship of the departments? 

123 



